


Weekly Berena Fix

by HartKins



Category: Holby City
Genre: Barn, Bartender - Freeform, Birth, Cat, DIY, Equal, F/F, Hunt, Injury, Jealousy, Laughter, Morocco - Freeform, One Shot Collection, Pride, Rain, Recovery, Sacrifice, Scar, Shakespeare, Staring, Tea Leaves, Truth, Velvet - Freeform, Weekly Berena Fix, bicker, dream - Freeform, drunk, fairy tale, flower - Freeform, retreat, snorkel, snuggle, strong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2019-10-03 10:31:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 27,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17282399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HartKins/pseuds/HartKins
Summary: Collection of one shots for Weekly Berena Fix





	1. Snuggle

**Author's Note:**

> I got this done in 2 hours and I'm proud of myself because one shots usually take me about 7 hours to write....
> 
> This first one is definitely AU and Bernie & Serena are in their 20s
> 
> FYI I didn't watch the whole episode, just the important part
> 
> *whispers* please don't hurt me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena snuggle after receiving some upsetting news.

“Bernie, what are you watching?” Serena asked her girlfriend who was sitting on the couch with her hands clasped tightly together as she focused intently on the tv.

“Shhhh!!!” Bernie shouted as she waved her hand toward the voice behind her, never taking her eyes off the screen.

There were weird noises coming from the tv when Serena walked in and then suddenly it got quiet.

_“UK security helpline. How can I help?”_ said a lady in a quiet office with a headset on.

_“Get me Kate Stewart at UNIT. This is a code 0 emergency,”_ Jodie Whitaker, the 13th doctor said into her cell phone.

_“I don’t know what that is, I’m afraid. Which organization did you say?”_ The lady on the other end of the call asked.

_“UNIT. Unified Intelligence Taskforce. This is incredibly urgent. The fate of the entire planet is at stake,”_ the doctor said, she needed help and she needed it now.

_“Checking for you,”_ the lady said as she rolled the chair she was in closer to the screen. _“Oh, I’m so sorry. UNIT operations have been suspended pending review,"_ she said.

_“WHAT?! No, it can’t have been! UNIT is a fundamentally vital protection for planet Earth against_ alien _invasion,"_ she said like it was the most important thing she's ever said.

_“Yes, but when did that last happen?”_ She asked after taking a sip from the mug in her hand. Clearly, she was unphased by the emergency that was going on on the other line.

_“Now! Right now!”_ The doctor yelled. _“What happened to it?”_ She asked a little calmer.

_“Just checking,”_ she said as she typed. _“All UNIT operations were put on hold following financial disputes and subsequent funding withdrawal by the UK’s major international partners,”_ she said with a strange look on her face.

_“You’re kidding?”_ The blonde on the tv sighed.

_“Other armed forces are available if you can answer a couple of questions to help-”_ The doctor hung up the phone before the lady could finish the sentence.

“Oh my god,” Bernie said, she was dumbfounded. She was a big fan of Kate Stewart and UNIT. She was looking forward to the day when 13 & Kate would meet. For a split second, she thought that day was going to be today, but it was quite the opposite.

 

That night, Serena found Bernie curled up in a ball in their bed quietly crying with tears running down her face.

“Bernie? What’s wrong?” Serena asked as she rushed over and climbed into bed and pulled Bernie into her.

“It’s over. Kate’s gone,” Bernie said as she snuggled into Serena more.

“What?” Serena, if she was honest, didn’t know much about Doctor Who. She wasn’t a fan but she respected Bernie’s love for it and never complained when Bernie dragged her along to the conventions.

“Kate Stewart. UNIT. They’re suspended for God only knows how long. I don’t think I’ll ever see Kate on screen ever again.” Bernie started whimpering again.

“I’m so sorry, Bernie. I’m here for you,” she said as she hugged Bernie tighter and planted a kiss to Bernie’s hair.

“You know when someone you really like, maybe even love, is in your life and suddenly they’re not? That’s how I feel with Kate. I know she’s not dead and she’s just a character, but I looked up to her because she was a strong woman, someone I wish I could be. That’s how I’m feeling. Like I’ve been let down. Cheated on. Forgotten,” she let out a deep sigh. She was exhausted by it all.

“Oh, darling,” Serena said as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I know you hate it when I’m always looking at the positive side of things but, at least you have those audios with Kate, Riversong & Osgood to look forward to,” she said, hoping that would cheer her up.

Bernie sat up and looked at Serena, clearly baffled by what just came out of her mouth.

“See? I pay attention to your interests, I sort of know what’s going on,” she smiled at Bernie. “Don’t ask me what it’s called or what it’s going to be about because that I don’t know,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders noncommittally.

“I love you so much,” Bernie chuckled as she leaned over and pressed her lips to Serena’s before laying back down to snuggle some more.

“I love you, too,” Serena said before she pulled the covers over them and shifted until she was wrapped around Bernie, the love of her life.


	2. Scar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie has scars and Serena shows her that they're nothing to be ashamed of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could've made this one intimate but I decided to keep it more on the fluffy side

The first time Serena saw Bernie’s scars was when Bernie was in Serena’s bedroom the morning after she had stayed the night. It was early in their relationship and they were both hesitant to move on from kissing and touching under clothing. Serena had just finished taking a shower and walked into the bedroom when she saw Bernie standing in front of the mirror in just her bra and skinny jeans, her fingers touching the skin between her breasts.

“Bernie,” she said as she slowly walked closer to the mirror as Bernie tried to cover her scar.

Serena knew of Bernie’s surgery, but not the extent of it. She was curious as to what happened, but she never forced Bernie to talk about it. She knew Bernie had scars, she was in the army, she would’ve been shocked if she didn’t have any.

As Serena got closer to Bernie, she reached for Bernie’s fingers and kissed them before dropping them to her sides. Leaning in, she kissed Bernie’s lips before moving lower and pressed kisses to her jaw. When she reached her neck, she kissed over the almost faded scar that was there. She had seen it many times, but she never really looked at it and paid attention to it. She moved down to Bernie’s collarbones before her lips hovered over the scar bisecting her chest.

“Serena,” Bernie gasped as Serena pressed gentle kisses to the slightly raised skin.

“Okay?” Serena asked as she removed her lips and looked up at Bernie.

“Yeah, it’s still really sensitive,” she almost whispered as she looked into Serena’s eyes.

She hated it, she tried not to look at it and touched it as little as possible. However, watching Serena pay attention to it and be so gentle, brought tears to her eyes.

“Your body is beautiful. All of it. Every. Single. Inch,” she said between kisses around the scar and over each of Bernie's breasts, receiving moans and gasps in return.

When Bernie was overwhelmed with love, she put her hands on Serena’s head and lightly pulled her up to kiss her lips again. After several tender kisses, Serena looked into Bernie’s eyes and grabbed her hand and led her over to the bed to show her just how beautiful her body was and how much she loved it, scars and all.

Later, Bernie would share how she got every one of her scars. She would hold Serena in her arms and comfort her as she cried, telling her what her mother did to her years ago. The physical scars were faded, but the emotional scars would always be there and Bernie would be there to help her through them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one!


	3. Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie doesn't normally get jealous unless her girlfriend is involved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is definitely an AU. Set when they are in their 20s.
> 
> I haven't been in the mood to write lately. My mental health is almost killing me, but I wanted to get something out for this week's prompt.

Bernie didn’t think she was the jealous type. She knew her girlfriend, Serena McKinnie, was a flirt. She flirted with men all the time and Bernie had no problem with it because she knew there wouldn’t be any competition, Serena was a lesbian. It was when Serena started flirting with a random woman during the medical conference they were attending, that Bernie got worried.

Serena was standing about 15 feet away from Bernie, holding a glass of wine in one hand and occasionally touching the woman’s arm with the other, smiling and laughing at every little thing the woman said. She looked to be in her 30s, brunette and full-figured as the emerald dress she was wearing hugged all of her curves. She was the same height as Serena, but that was with 3-inch heels on. She didn’t seem like the type of woman Serena would be attracted to, blondes were her type, or so Bernie thought.

5 minutes later, when Bernie had seen enough, she set her glass of whiskey down on the table and walked towards the 2 women.

“Sorry to interrupt, but is it okay if I borrow Miss McKinnie for awhile?” Bernie asked nicely, not a hint of anger or jealousy in her voice.

“Of course, Ms. Wolfe,” the woman said as she glanced at Bernie’s name tag. “It was nice talking to you, Serena,” She said as she gently squeezed Serena’s arm before walking away.

Bernie grabbed Serena’s hand and headed toward the door to leave. She led Serena all the way to the hotel elevators without saying a word. When the doors opened and no one else was inside, she pulled Serena through the doors and kissed her hard.

“Who was that woman?” Bernie muttered against Serena’s lips.

“Melissa. She’s one of the surgeons speaking later tonight. Oh!” Serena said before gasping when Bernie moved down and sucked on her neck.

“You were flirting with her. Do you like her?” Bernie asked as she continued to suck and kiss Serena’s neck as her hands snuck around Serena and squeezed her bum.

“No, of course not. I was just simply having a conversation with her,” she moaned.

“It didn’t look like that to me,” Bernie grumbled. “I don’t like her,” she said.

“Are you jealous, Ms. Wolfe?” Serena asked jokingly.

Before Bernie could answer, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Bernie grabbed Serena’s hand again and walked them down the hall to their room they were sharing. She grabbed the key from her pocket and quickly opened the door before ushering Serena into the room and pressing her against the door and kissing her lips hard.

“No. Not jealous,” she said as she reached around Serena’s back and reached for her zipper and pulled it down.

“Bernie,” Serena said with raised eyebrows.

“Okay, fine. Can you blame me, though? You’re beautiful, and a flirt, and it seems like everyone wants you,” Bernie said as she stepped back and watched as Serena took her dress off.

“Well, the only person that gets to have me is you,” Serena smiled as she sauntered towards the bed.

“You got that right,” Bernie bit her lip as she watched Serena and began to undress before joining her on the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been trying to keep these one shots smut free because I haven't felt like writing smut and I want to save it for my other collection.


	4. Barn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How does one relax when there's a barn involved?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It only took me 5 days to write this short thing....
> 
> I haven't had much motivation lately but I'm still trying to get a fic, or 2, out each week.

Bernie & Serena had 4 days off from the hospital because AAU was closed due to remodeling. Bernie decided they needed to get as far away from Holby as possible. They both had been working hard since Bernie returned from Nairobi for good 4 months ago and they needed this mini holiday.

On the morning of their last shift, Bernie looked for a nice and quiet place to take Serena where they could relax and not have to deal with anyone’s problems. She found a lovely cabin about 3 hours from Holby. It was owned by an older couple that rented it out whenever they traveled. From the pictures, it looked like something they could both enjoy. The weather was just starting to get warmer so they were going to be able to spend a lot of time outdoors. Bernie booked the cabin 30 minutes after finding it and told Serena all about it on their way home that day, she was just so excited to spend time with the love of her life.

“This place is so beautiful,” Serena said as they pulled up to the cabin. It was in a secluded area where trees were starting to sprout their leaves again and the grass was so green.

“What are we going to do here?” Serena asked. She knew Bernie well enough that she wouldn’t book a place that didn’t have activities. Being in the army, Bernie couldn’t relax for very long, she always had to be doing something. Serena, however, could lay around for 4 days and be content.

“Oooh look, Serena. There’s a barn. Barns are good,” Bernie replied, pointing to her right. She didn’t see any information about it on the website.

“Really, Bernie? A barn?” Serena raised her eyebrows. What the heck were they going to do in a barn? She failed to see how petting smelly animals was going to be relaxing.

“Yep. Let’s go check it out!” Bernie slammed the car door and jogged towards the big red building in the distance. Serena, the sophisticated one, walked slowly, taking her sweet time.

When Bernie opened the massive doors, there were 2 beautiful horses. A white one on the left and a brown one on the right. Bernie gasped.

“Serena! Let’s ri-”

“NO!” Serena cut her off as she walked up behind her. She hadn’t even seen the horses yet, but she knew what Bernie was thinking.

“Why not?” Bernie turned around to look at Serena, a pout forming on her face.

“Because I hate horses. They terrify me.” Serena was standing in the doorway of the barn and was hesitant about stepping forward as Bernie went to the horse on the left. Bernie had no idea Serena was scared of horses, that wasn't something they had talked about yet. She turned around and walked back toward Serena with nothing but love in her eyes.

“Come on. It’s okay, I’ve got you,” Bernie smiled as she reached out for Serena’s hand.

Bernie helped Serena saddle up and mount the brown horse, Alabaster, before getting on the white horse, Josephine. They took a slow trot around the property, stopping occasionally to let the horses munch on the grass. Bernie rode horses when she was younger and tried to get Cameron & Charlotte into it, but Marcus refused to take them after Bernie went back on tour.

“You doing okay, Serena?” Bernie asked as they were heading back to the barn.

“Mhmm,” Serena nodded. “This actually isn’t that bad.” She never thought she would get on another horse ever again after what happened when she was little.

She was 7 when she was riding her grandmother’s horse while her grandmother led them back to the barn after a ride around the big yard. She forgot to shut the gate so she pulled the horse along with her so Serena could get a little more riding in, when all of a sudden, the horse cantered back towards the barn. Serena screamed and hung on as the horse hightailed it back to shelter. After that, Serena swore she would never get on that horse, or any horse, ever again. Until today.

After the short ride, Bernie & Serena got the horses back in their stables and unsaddled and brushed them.

“This was fun,” Serena said as they walked out of the barn and shut the doors.

“See? Barns aren’t bad. Barns are good,” Bernie smiled as she took Serena’s hand in hers as they walked back to their car to get their stuff. “Let’s go check out the cabin and maybe have a nap.” Bernie was excited to spend the next 4 days relaxing and exploring this beautiful paradise with her girlfriend without any interruptions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What happened with Serena when she was younger happened to me and I'm still traumatized! It wasn't that bad, really, I'm just a wimp!


	5. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the breakup, Bernie makes some decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was interesting to write because there's absolutely no dialogue. I've never written one without any before.

As soon as Bernie walked out of Albie’s, she reached into her coat pocket for her phone and rang for a cab, she just wanted to get out of there. As she waited for the cab, she looked up the number for the same hotel she had called 6 months ago before Serena spun her around and kissed her at the front entrance of the hospital. She hoped she would only have to stay in Holby for one more night, catching a flight to Nairobi the next day. She knew she had to stop at Serena’s to get her things before going to the hotel on the other side of town.

When the cab pulled up to Serena’s she explained to the driver that she had to run inside really quick. She went up to the door grabbed the spare key hidden in a secret place, specifically for Jason on the off chance he needed to stop by when Serena wasn’t home. He refused to keep the key Serena had given him, explaining to her that he would get the keys mixed up if he had too many. Serena understood and said that she would hide it in case he needed to use it. Bernie seemed to use it more than Jason.

Bernie rushed in and threw all her clothes in her bags and the small, green suitcase she had left at Serena’s when she arrived a week ago before going to the hospital.

When she got back to the cab, she made sure the driver knew the name of the hotel and looked out of the window as the cab pulled away from Serena’s place. She probably would never visit this place ever again.

Once inside the hotel room, she set her stuff down and slowly began to undress, the emotions of the long day had finally caught up to her. She dug through her bag and pulled out a wrinkled t-shirt and fleece pajama pants, both probably dirty, and put them on without a care.

She got into bed and laid down, letting out a deep breath, feeling like she had been holding it all day. After she got comfy, she closed her eyes and tears began to fall down as she let out little whimpers. She loved Serena with all of her heart, she gave up her dream job for her. Which reminded her that she needed to retract her notice when she got back to the NTC. She was unable to stop the tears from falling, she began to sob into the pillow under her head. After 10 minutes of crying, her face stained with salty tears, she fell asleep.

The next morning she woke up around 8 am and showered quickly before hailing a cab to the airport. She booked the next flight to Nairobi and waited at the gate for 3 hours, charging her phone and getting breakfast in the meantime.

 

The day after she arrived back in Nairobi, she was feeling a little bit better, being back in the city she has called home for over a year calmed her. She had talked to her trauma staff and briefly told them that plans had changed and that she was coming back to work with them, of course, they wanted to know what happened between her & Serena because they knew so about the love of her life, but they didn’t pressure her into talking.

She had the day off so she decided to go shopping. Bernie wasn’t much of a shopper but something inside of her said to go shopping. She hopped into her car, one that she purchased not long after getting to Nairobi because she figured she would save money in the long run if she had a car, and headed to the local outdoor shopping area and walked around. Suddenly, she was walking into a store called VituZote Junction Mall, a kitchen supply store. She walked by all the gadgets and utensils, most of them foreign to her when her eyes landed on the one thing she knew how to work, the KitchenAid stand mixer. She walked over to it and touched it a couple times before she grabbed ahold of one by her feet, it was blood red and carried it to the front of the store. She was buying it, and she didn’t know why.

After leaving the kitchen store, she popped her new purchase in her car and decided to stop at one more store. She was actually having a nice time. She ended up at an electronics store, much like Argos. This time, she knew what she wanted. There were so many to choose from but after about 10 minutes, she picked out a 65” smart tv. This one would be so much nicer than the 32” currently sitting in her apartment. She caught someone’s attention as she tried to drag the massive tv to the front of the store.

On her drive back to her place, she tried to figure out why her brain was telling her to make these decisions to buy expensive items, definitely a luxury for her. As she pulled in front of the building, it hit her, this was a form of recovery. Recovery from everything she had been through for almost 3 years. Overall, it was the best 2 and a half years, but it had its challenges, for sure. Now, here she was, recovering from it all and putting herself first, for once. She, without a doubt, deserved to spoil herself, and she loved it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't my best. It doesn't really sound like Bernie, but not much would change if I kept working with it.
> 
> I've had a rough day and wasn't in the mood to write but I needed to get this out.
> 
> I started one of my college courses, but I hope to be able to keep up with these.


	6. DIY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie reminds Serena that she's her BMAM and puts her hands to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Definitely AU.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

3 days before Guinevere’s 1st birthday found Bernie & Serena in bed. Bernie was reading a book and Serena was on her iPad scrolling through Amazon looking for gift ideas for their little grandniece. They had already gotten her some small gifts, but they wanted to get her something she could play with for a couple of years.

“What about a dollhouse?” Serena asked Bernie, who was engrossed in the murder mystery in her hands. She let out a grunt, which didn’t sound like a yes or no.

“Bernie, I need your help with this,” she said as she turned to face the woman next to her.

“Okay, I’ll put it down,” Bernie smiled at her.

They took a few minutes scrolling through a list of kids toys when Bernie’s eyes suddenly lit up and she let out a gasp.

“Serena, what about that?” She asked as she tapped the screen.

“A kitchen?” Serena asked puzzled.

“I loved the kitchen I had when I was little. She can play with it for several years.” Bernie seemed really excited about it.

“Okay, but who’s going to put it together? Jason isn’t much of a builder, and there’s no way I’m going to because I hate assembling things.” She didn’t mean to, but Serena was quickly shooting down Bernie’s idea.

“Hello? Did you forget? Big macho army medic, here. I’ll have it put together in no time.” How could Serena forget, Bernie loved putting things together.

“Yep, I forgot,” Serena winked. “If we order it now, it should be here in time. Amazon Prime is bloody wonderful.” Serena tapped a few times on the screen and soon the iPad a little noise, confirming her purchase by email.

 

Serena officially had a love/hate relationship with Amazon Prime. It was Saturday afternoon, 3 hours before Guinevere’s birthday party and guess what hadn’t arrived yet?

She had received an email the morning before saying there was a delay at the warehouse and that the package would arrive the next morning. It was 1 pm and there was no sign of it.

“It’s okay, Serena. As soon as it gets here, I’ll get started on it, shouldn’t take that long,” Bernie reassured her, noticing that she was stressed. Serena just wanted to do something special for the little girl in her life.

An hour later, the doorbell rang and a massive box was laying against the door frame. Bernie dragged the heavy package inside to the living room and got working on it.

A half hour into the assembly, Bernie was sat on the floor with wooden pieces in several piles and about a thousand tiny styrofoam balls everywhere.

“Oh my god, this is a bloody disaster,” Serena said while rubbing her temples as she stood in the doorway of the living room.

“I’ve got this, Serena. It’ll be done in time,” Bernie smiled as she stood up and went over to hug Serena and press a kiss to her forehead. She then walked back to one of the piles and grabbed the screwdriver from her tool belt and got cracking.

The kitchen was harder to put together than Bernie expected. The pieces of wood were real and were heavy. At one point, she stripped one of the screw holes that were on the back of the microwave door so she had to super glue the screw and plastic piece that kept the door shut so it wouldn’t fall off and prevented little Gwen from putting it in her mouth.

Bernie was tough, blood tough, even, and she loved Guinevere to bits, but this kitchen assembly was starting to wear her down. It wasn’t even that big, there were just too many pieces. Serena offered to help by putting all the knobs on for the stove and oven, which Bernie was grateful for. She even picked up every piece of styrofoam as Bernie brushed them onto the floor.

Finally, 30 minutes until the party started, Bernie laid the last piece, the top to the refrigerator and screwed it into place and releasing a deep and audible sigh.

“Finished!” Bernie cheered as she threw her arms up into the air in victory.

Serena walked into the room and saw the finished project. Tears formed in her eyes from the love she had towards Bernie. A woman that would do anything for Serena, or for a little girl that she adored that wasn’t blood-related.

“It’s beautiful, Bernie. Thank you,” Serena said as she walked over to her partner and pecked her on the cheek.

“You’re welcome. Never forget that I’m your big macho army medic, and maybe even a builder,” She smiled as she pulled Serena into a hug. “Okay, let’s get this in the car and go,” she said before attempting to find a good place to grab onto the kitchen so she could lift it up, but Serena stopped her.

“Wait. Bernie, you need to change, you have tiny foam balls all over you,” Serena chuckled while trying to brush some of them off Bernie’s arm.

“Oh. Be right back,” She said as she looked down at herself, she looked like a human lint roller.

They finally got to the party on time, thankfully, both knowing Jason would lecture them about how being on time to a social gathering shows respect and helps make a good impression.

When it was time for gift opening, Bernie quietly asked Fletch if he would help her with something outside and together they carried in the kitchen and set it in front of Guinevere, her eyes lighting up immediately.

The day after Serena ordered the kitchen, Bernie went out and bought a bunch of stuff to go with the kitchen, because you can’t have a toy kitchen without food and utensils. She bought some pots and pans, a huge food set, and some plates to put food on. She wanted to make sure the little girl was prepared to use her imagination however she wanted. Serena didn’t know that Bernie had gone out and bought more stuff so she was surprised when Bernie handed Jason a big box and said it was from her.

After the party, Jason thanked his aunties for making Guinevere’s 1st birthday so special. Bernie felt so much love coming from Serena’s family, tears welled up in her eyes as she thought back to a year ago today and how everything between her & Serena had almost ended. She loved Serena and her family so much, she couldn’t imagine a life without them, and she didn’t want to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to stay away from swing assembly and barn building because they seemed like the obvious DIY projects.
> 
> This was based off what happened to me. I bought a toy kitchen for my nephews for Christmas and thought it would be easy to put together. Luckily, I had a week to get it done, but it still took me about 8 hours altogether.


	7. Velvet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Valentine's Day and Bernie definitely knows how to celebrate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize in advance for being American and not doing more research about the shops in the UK.

Valentine’s Day, a day Bernie Wolfe never really liked because she was either on tour or Marcus didn’t want to celebrate. Now, here she was, laying in bed with a smile on her face, more than excited to spend the holiday with the woman she loved, Serena Campbell.

Today wasn’t only Valentine’s day, but it was 6 months since Bernie asked Serena to be her partner. Bernie made it clear that they didn’t want to refer to each other as girlfriends, it just didn’t sound right to her. Partners sounded sophisticated, just like they were.

Serena woke up at 7 and got ready and left for the hospital at 8. She was planning to only work half of the day, so she could spend the rest of the day with her Bernie. Luckily, Bernie had the day off so she could prepare for later that evening. As soon as Serena left the house, Bernie jumped out of bed and took a quick shower before getting in her car, she had so much to do in very little time.

The first stop was the grocery store to pick up ingredients to make Serena’s favorite cake, red velvet. Bernie learned that a month after they started seeing each other when they were watching the Great British Bake Off one night. A baker had made a 3-tier red velvet cake for the signature challenge and Serena’s eyes lit up when they were being judged on it, quietly saying, “ooooh, I love a good red velvet cake,” as she ate the dinner Bernie had cooked.

The next stop was House of Fraser’s to pick up some items for Serena to use in 2 days time. She picked up a red and pink box and tissue paper and headed to pay for everything before heading to her next destination.

Her last stop, the one she was sort of dreading, was to Harmony, tonight was going to be such a wonderful night, she was sure of it. Walking around and seeing all of the different toys and equipment made her nervous, she had never been to one of these stores before. She was married to Marcus for 35 years and they didn’t need any assistance in the bedroom department. It’s different being with Serena, obviously, but she wasn’t here because the sex was bad, she just wanted to enhance it.

Finally, after browsing for 20 minutes, she found what she wanted and proceeded to pay for the item before heading back home to get everything ready, Serena was due home in 2 hours.

While heading home, she got a little side-tracked and picked up some beautiful red roses, along with a box of chocolates to give to her beautiful woman. She was surprised to see there were still some flowers to choose from and a fair amount of assorted chocolate boxes.

She quickly whipped up the red velvet cake and stuck it in the oven before moving on to wrap the gifts and set them on the kitchen table for Serena to see when she walked into the room.

She had just finished frosting the top of the cake when she heard a car door shut outside, signaling that Serena was home, early, in fact.

When Serena walked through the front door, she was nearly knocked over by Bernie as she was being pushed against the door and her lips suddenly being attacked. The kiss quickly turned passionate, but before it could evolve into something more, Bernie released Serena’s bottom lip and backed away, both breathless.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, my love. There are some surprises waiting for you in the kitchen,” Bernie said as she took Serena’s coat and bag from her, kissing her neck before hanging them up on the hook next to where they were just stood.

As Serena walked into the kitchen, the first thing she saw was the huge bouquet of roses on the table, making the table look much smaller.

“These are beautiful, Bernie,” she said as she bent down and smelled them. The scent filling her nose instantly.

“Beautiful, just like you,” Bernie replied as she stood behind Serena and pressed a kiss to the back of her neck.

Bernie reached for the box of chocolates sitting next to the flowers and opened it, grabbing one and holding it up to Serena’s mouth. Once Serena had taken a bite, she moved closer and pressed her lips to Serena’s, tasting the chocolate and the cherry cream that was in the center. They both moaned at the taste and the sheer softness of each other’s lips.

The 2 boxes were the only things on the table that hadn’t gotten attention so Bernie grabbed the red box, she had a strategy as to which order Serena was going to get each gift, and handed it to her. As Serena was beginning to open it, Bernie stood behind Serena and reached in her back pocket of her skinny jeans pulled something out.

“Wait, Serena. Before you open it, I want to ask you a question,” Bernie said as she began to kneel down on one knee. Serena hadn’t realized what Bernie was doing until she turned around and saw where Bernie was.

“Oh my god,” was the only thing Serena could say.

“Serena, we’ve known each other for only 8 months, but it feels like you’ve been in my life for many years. I’ve never felt this content and happy in my entire life, and it’s because of you. I love you so much and I cannot imagine a life without you. So, Serena Wendy Campbell, will you marry me?” Bernie had tears in her eyes because she meant every single word and they were filled with nothing but love for Serena.

“Yes, yes, yes! I’d love nothing more than to marry you,” Serena said as she pulled Bernie up from the floor and kissed her hard on the lips, both wrapping their arms around each other.

“Okay, now you can open your gifts,” Bernie said as she let go of Serena.

“Oh, Bernie. It’s beautiful,” Serena said as she ran her hand over the bright red, velvet rob that laid in the box. Bernie handed her the pink box for her to open. “Oooh, these look nice,” she was glancing at a pair of slippers, velvet, of course, to match her robe. “I already have a nice pair of slippers and a robe. What do you have planned, Wolfe?” Serena was grateful for her gifts but had an inkling that Bernie was up to something else.

“Well, first off, I’m glad you said yes to marrying me because otherwise, this entire plan would have backfired if you had said no,” Bernie chuckled. “To celebrate our engagement, I’ve booked 2 nights at a spa hotel an hour from here, and I thought you needed brand new, luxurious slippers and a robe,” she said as she pulled Serena into a hug and pecking her on the cheek.

“Thank you so much. I love you, and I really don’t deserve you,” Serena said before she kissed Bernie on the lips.

“Of course you do, you deserve the world,” Bernie smiled. “There’s one more little gift, it’s wrapped in the robe,” she said as she grabbed the robe and carefully opened it up. Serena’s eyes got huge when Bernie held the item between her fingers.

“Oooh, handcuffs?” Serena questioned. It’s not like she hasn’t seen sexy handcuffs before, she just never had an interest in them.

“I’ve never used them before, wasn’t really my thing, but I thought this could be something fun to try,” she said as she twirled one of the velvety cuffs around her finger.

“Want to try them out now?” Serena asked. She was always up for trying new things.

“Race you upstairs,” Bernie replied, her eyes had darkened suddenly.

Bernie & Serena spent the next couple hours in bed before going back to the kitchen and cutting into the cake for a late lunch.

They were going to spend the rest of their lives together and they couldn’t be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm quite proud of myself for keeping this clean. I easily could've turned it into one of my fics from my other collection, but I've decided these are going to be SFW because I'm not a total weirdo and can write fluff without going crazy.
> 
> I'm also proud that I got this one done so quickly, but also my writing class starts tonight so I wanted to get this week's prompt out so I can focus on my classes for several days.
> 
> I really hope to get back to posting more of smut prompts I've finished months ago and start writing more. Fingers crossed!


	8. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had both made sacrifices for each other and yet they still broke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For once, I am happy with how this one turned out!
> 
> It's a fix-it fic for the episode The Right Sort of Animal because, yes, that episode was horrible, thanks for asking.
> 
> Sad and angsty, but there's finally a happy ending!

Bernie walked out of the door to Albie’s and straight to her rental car, a blank look upon her face, her eyes as dry as the Sahara Desert. She was so bloody thankful she decided to rent a car for the week. She just needed to get out of there, and quickly.

As soon as the door slammed shut, the tears began to fall. It was over, her life as Serena’s partner was over. She couldn’t stop the floodgates from opening, tears staining her cheeks and neck as she tilted her head back against the headrest.

She sat there with her eyes closed for a long time, quietly whimpering. She suddenly had no desire to start the car and leave. Where would she go anyway? Her stuff was at Serena’s.

She hadn’t realized how long it had been until someone gently tapped on the window.

As soon as the conga line finished, Serena found the 2-seater couch in the corner and sat down, noticing the empty wine glass and full bottle sitting on the table. She poured the wine until it was half of an inch from the top and brought it slowly to her lips.

She sat there until the half of the bottle was guzzled, she was starting to feel relaxed. Then, she remembered what had happened 30 minutes ago, the talk she had with Bernie. The image of Bernie winking and saluting at her before leaving replayed in her head as her head fell back and her eyes closed. Tears started to appear under her eyelashes, but she quickly wiped them away. She was in a bar with her colleagues, they didn’t need to see her crying.

She loved Bernie, she loved everything about her. She loved how soft her skin was, how her fingers felt when she threaded them through her golden curls, how smooth her lips were when they were pressed against her own and all over her body. But what she loved the most, was how she treated her after Serena had told her about her infidelity, she didn’t scream or anything. If Serena was honest, she was surprised Bernie didn’t bolt out of her office and out of the hospital, to another country, as she had done before. Bernie was gracious about it, so understanding, that’s what hurt Serena the most. Bernie was this wonderful, caring, and forgiving woman that loved her so much, and Serena went and ruined it. Even though it wasn’t the infidelity that broke them up, Serena couldn’t help but think that it had something to do with it.

After sitting and calling herself a stupid idiot, as she had 2 years ago, she reached for her phone in her pocket to call a cab, there was no way she was driving home and she was ready to go home, she had had enough for the day. After ending the call, she finally got off the couch and went to find Jason & Greta, to wish them congratulations before leaving.

As she walked outside of Albie’s, she spotted a black Ford Fiesta, she knew it was Bernie’s because they had ridden to work together a couple of times in the last week. She thought about her next action very carefully, she knew the alcohol was affecting her thought process. There was a reason Bernie was still sat there, nearly an hour after she disappeared from the party, and Serena was going to find out why. She walked up to the car and tapped the window.

Bernie jumped when she heard it, quickly opening her eyes and turning towards her window. It was Serena, what was she doing out here? Bernie turned the key in the car so she could roll down the window.

“Hi,” Bernie almost whispered. The effects of crying evident in her voice.

“What are you still doing here?” Serena asked, she tried to make it sound like she was concerned but it came out a bit harsh.

“I-I, um. Can you sit in here with me?” Bernie was nervous. She didn’t know what she was doing but she knew she didn’t want to have whatever conversation they were going to have with Serena standing out in the cold. She started the car as Serena walked around and got in.

“I’m sorry, Bernie. I’m so very sorry,” Serena sobbed immediately after shutting the door. Bernie’s instincts kicked in and she wrapped her arm around Serena and pulled her in as best as she could. She desperately wanted to kiss her and tell her it was okay, but they needed to talk, properly.

After Serena had stopped sobbing, she sat up and wiped her eyes with her coat sleeve. She looked up at Bernie and noticed her eyes were red, she had been crying too.

“Serena, we need to have a proper talk,” she said, letting out a deep sigh. “I don’t know what’s been going on around here, and I don’t want to. But, I do know that I love you, very much, in fact. I know that when I told you I gave up my job at the NTC, basically my dream job and that I was coming home, you didn’t seem as excited. I know you said it was fantastic, but I could just tell by the hug that you were holding back. Was it because of what happened between you & Dr. Faulkner?” Bernie couldn’t believe the words she was saying, it broke her heart.

“Yes,” was all Serena could say, it was the truth.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Like the night I got into town?” Bernie had her arms folded and was leaning against the door. The look on her face much like the one in their office earlier in the day.

“I was scared. I knew I messed up, royally messed up. I just couldn’t tell you. I’m sorry,” she replied, the last words were almost a whisper. She refused to look at Bernie.

“I gave up my dream job for you! I made a sacrifice so we could be together! I loved you, more than anything, and you go and sleep with a woman practically half your age because you were stressed?!” Bernie had no idea where this anger was coming from, she very rarely got angry at anyone.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I don’t know what else to say!” Serena was sobbing now, Bernie’s words hit her like a truck.

She had made a sacrifice too. She sacrificed being with the love of her life in order to be with Jason and his family, but she didn’t think it would be a good idea to bring it up. She briefly thought back to their argument in the office when Greta was in labor. What would’ve happened if she had just left with Bernie then? She hoped their relationship would’ve been the best it had ever been, but she also hated to think about how Jason would’ve coped.

Finally, she turned and faced Bernie for the first time since getting in the car. Tears clouded her vision, her nose was beginning to run, she was a complete mess.

“I want you. I want you in my life forever. I need you, Serena. I can’t live without you.” Bernie started sobbing, as well, and before she could react, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to Serena’s. Serena gasped at the sudden movement but quickly threaded her fingers into Bernie’s hair.

When they finally broke for air, they gazed into each other’s eyes, both of them calmer, albeit still red from all the crying.

“I love you, Bernie. Do you have it in your heart to ever forgive me? I can’t live without you, either. And it’s clear that I physically need you here. I don’t think long distance relationships work for us.” Serena chuckled as she wrapped a curl around her finger as her eyes drifted down to Bernie’s lips.

“Ha. Ya think? I guess I can’t leave you on your own anymore,” Bernie teased. She reassured Serena that she was joking by pressing short kisses to her cheek. “How are we going to make this work, though? You told me Jason can’t imagine me pushing swings and taking the bins out.” Bernie was curious as to how that whole conversation came about.

“You know I love Jason dearly, but screw him! He doesn’t know what he’s saying. I think you would be an excellent swing pusher. And you’d take the bins out with pride while wearing the comfiest slippers,” Serena smiled. “I know I said that if you gave up everything I’d never forgive myself, but the truth is, I’d never forgiven myself if I let you run away again. I know that’s selfish, but it’s been utter Hell since you’ve been gone. I need you here.” Serena looked into Bernie’s eyes the entire time, to let her know that she meant every word.

“Okay. I’ll stay. As long as you let me travel once in a while. I can’t be stuck in one place for too long, it’s who I am,” Bernie said as she rubbed Serena’s cheek with her thumb.

“Go traveling on your own? That doesn’t sound fun.” Serena expertly raised her right eyebrow.

“Of course not on my own, you’ll be with me. I don’t want to leave you in another country ever again.” Bernie’s words were so soft against Serena’s ears that she almost melted. “I love you.” Bernie leaned in and pressed her lips to Serena’s.

Before either of them could deepen the kiss, a loud car horn blared, making them both jump and move to opposite ends of the car. It took Serena a few seconds to figure out what was going on and then she glanced out the window and saw a taxi across the street.

“Oh, that’s my taxi,” she laughed, taking a moment to catch her breath from the kissing and the shock of the loud noise.

“Do you need to go?” Bernie asked seriously, but the look on her face said otherwise.

“I am _not_ getting out of this car,” Serena said, she was very adamant about that statement.

“Need a lift, then?” Bernie asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Yes, please!” Serena smiled widely at Bernie, receiving a chuckle in return, before reaching for her seatbelt as Bernie started the car.

Bernie & Serena’s life together began that night. After spending some time in bed together, Bernie finalized her notice in Nairobi and realized she would have to visit one last time to collect her things and say goodbye. She wouldn’t be going back alone this time, Serena would be right there with her like they had planned all along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this one!!!!


	9. Equal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie reminds Serena they're equals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this one!

“We are equals, after all.”

“You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?”

“Not on your life.”

 

Bernie & Serena’s relationship had been going great lately. It had been about 6 months since they broke up during Jason’s wedding reception and they got back together a week later. Both of them realized it was idiotic to split up in the middle of a bar, so while Bernie was still in town, they met at a cafe and properly talked. Bernie had decided to spend another week in Holby instead of going back to Nairobi. Not because she kept her hopes up in getting back together with Serena, she just couldn’t get herself to go back right away. They both decided it was best to meet on neutral ground and far away from the crime scene, so to speak, aka the hospital. They both came to a conclusion that they couldn’t live without each other, and didn’t want to, but they had jobs that they loved. In the end, Bernie, no matter how hesitant she was, went forward with resigning from the NTC and took the job in the ED and started working side-by-side with Connie Beauchamp. She loved being able to do trauma and spend her lunch breaks with Serena, if she was free.

They quickly fell into a routine and they were able to coordinate their schedules so they had 2 days out of the week off together.

It was now the middle of July and hotter than the sun. Bernie had been training to do a 5k in a couple of days. She loved to run and was hoping to get a good time, her goal was to finish 3.1 miles in under 25 minutes.

Serena was so supportive and went to the gym with her sometimes. She would stand behind the treadmill and cheer Bernie on, which made Bernie laugh because she knew Serena did it just to get a look at her bum while she ran. Serena had a thing for Bernie in her black lycra, which made Bernie feel silly, but deep down, she loved to feel that affection from the woman she loved.

It was Saturday morning on the the 14th. Bernie woke up at 6am to get ready for the race at 8. She was just packing a small bag to take with her when Serena came up behind in the kitchen and wrapped her arms around her.

“Morning,” Serena mumbled into Bernie’s neck as she pressed kisses to it.  
“Morning. What are you doing up so early? You worked late last night,” Bernie asked as she turned around in Serena’s arms.

“Well, I was going to come cheer you on today, but I thought ‘Why cheer my partner on from the sidelines when I could join her?'” Serena said as she stepped back a bit to let Bernie get a glimpse at what she was wearing.

“You’re not serious,” Bernie laughed when she saw Serena was wearing the same thing as her. A white shirt and light-colored leggings.

“What? It’s just running. It’ll be easy!” Serena said. She was clueless.

“Just running?” Bernie raised her eyebrows. “We shall see about that,” Bernie smirked.

“Okay, I’d rather be drinking wine than running, but I love you and I want to do this with you, if you’ll let me,” Serena said as she moved closer to Bernie and kissed her cheek.

“Alright, but I’m not slowing down for you,” Bernie winked at the woman in her arms as she gently pecked her lips before reaching to repack her bag, adding things for Serena, as well.

They grabbed a coffee on the way to the race area, Serena hoping the caffeine would help her run faster. They checked in and helped each other pin their numbers on their shirts. This was the first time Bernie, and also Serena, had participated in an official 5k. Bernie had heard about The Color Run online, apparently, at each half mile people throw different colored powder on you, which sounded interesting so she signed up right away.

The race began at 8am and Bernie & Serena were in the first group of people to start. A half a mile in, after they got sprayed with purple and yellow powder, Serena was starting to slow down already.

“Are you okay?’ Bernie asked, slowing her pace down a bit.

“Yeah, I guess I’m more out of shape than I thought,” Serena huffed. She was kicking herself for thinking this was a good idea. There were other ways to spend time with your partner that didn’t involve running.

“Do you need to stop? I won’t be mad or laugh at you if you wanted to quit,” Bernie said as she reached her hand out for Serena’s.

“No, I want to keep going for a little bit,” Serena replied, squeezing Bernie’s hand in reassurance. “I think I need some water, though,” she said.

Bernie stopped and reached into the bag on her back and grabbed 2 waters and handed one to Serena. After seeing how out of breath Serena looked, she knew she was going to have to slow down because she knew Serena wasn’t going to stop. She wasn’t mad about not finishing in the time she wanted, she was glad she was spending this time with Serena.

The water rehydrated them and gave Serena a boost, she was able to keep a faster pace for quite awhile.

They had just passed the color station at 2.5 miles, they were covered in vibrant colors. Luckily, it was just on their legs and the bottom half of their shirts. Bernie had read the reviews online about The Color Run and many people suggested that you close your mouth and hold your breath as you went through each station, to avoid ingesting the powder. It was non-toxic, but with Bernie being in the medical field, she figured it probably wasn’t the best thing to inhale.

“Shit! Bernie!” Serena gasped suddenly and she reached for Bernie’s hand as her feet slipped from underneath her.

“Serena! What’s wrong?” Bernie gasped as she tried to catch Serena before she hit the ground, but she wasn’t fast enough.

“My knee! It’s dislocated!” Serena cried as laid in the middle of the street.

“Oh god! Okay, hold on, Serena,” Bernie said as she looked at Serena’s right leg and saw that something was very wrong. She grabbed the ankle and slowly and gently pulled the leg so it was straight and everything went back into place, Serena screaming the entire time. “I should go get some help,” she said once she gently set Serena’s leg down.

“No! No, I don’t want anybody else touching me,” Serena breathed as the pain got worse.

“Can you get up? You need to at least get off the ground,” Bernie said as she noticed they were in the middle of the street and people were running past them. Several people stopped to ask if they needed help but Bernie waved them off.

“Help me?” Serena asked as she struggled to stand up using only her good leg. Bernie leaned down and let Serena wrap her arms around her neck and put her hands on Serena’s hips and lifted her up slowly.

“Do you think you can walk? You need to put weight on the leg, if you can.” Bernie had seen this injury before while on tour, she knew that it was important to keep the leg moving so the muscles didn’t lock up, making it harder to walk.

“I can try,” Serena said when she was standing upright. “Oh, it feels weird, like it’s not even there,” Serena gasped. She too had seen several limb dislocations, but never experienced one herself.

“Okay, I’m carrying you. Get on my back, we’re finishing this thing,” Bernie said a couple minutes later when Serena was struggling to even bare weight on her leg.

“No, Bernie, you can’t. We still have half a mile left.” Serena shook her head. She briefly forgot they were even in a race, the pain in her leg overtaking a brain a bit.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you, Serena,” Bernie smiled as she pecked her lips before turning around and letting Serena climb on.

Once Serena was comfortable and Bernie had ahold of her, she began the walk towards the finish line.

“I’m sorry,” Serena almost whispered into Bernie’s ear.

“What for?” Bernie replied. They were about a quarter of a mile from the finish line and Bernie was flagging a bit.

“For being a shitty running partner. For being in horrible shape,” Serena laughed.

“Yeah, you’re a shit running partner,” Bernie chuckled. “But there’s no one else I’d rather do this with, and definitely no one I’d rather carry on my back,” she said.

“Good, because I wouldn’t want to see you carrying anyone else like this,” Serena said before pressing a kiss to Bernie’s cheek.

“Careful, or you’re gonna make me trip and fall,” Bernie sighed.

“You’re amazing. I love you so much,” Serena whispered.

“I love you, too,” Bernie whispered back.

10 minutes later, people began to cheer as Bernie & Serena crossed the finish line. Bernie gently set Serena down once they were at the first aid tent, even though Serena said she was fine and wanted to just go home.

Once Serena had been checked over to make sure it just a dislocation and nothing more serious, she was given a bag of ice for the swelling and was taken to their car in a wheelchair.

“Thank you,” Bernie said as she leaned over and kissed Serena on the lips.  
“I should be thanking you, my big macho army medic,” Serena smiled. “Also, I’m bummed I got hurt because I was planning on beating you!” she said.

“Ha! You were going to beat me? That’s funny!” Bernie laughed, or rather, honked. Her laugh was one of Serena’s favorite things about her.

“Yes, I was. I would have if my stupid knee didn’t betray me,” Serena said as she glanced down at her ice-covered knee.

“Well, it’s a good thing we tied, then. We are equals after all,” Bernie grinned at Serena. They were equals, indeed. They loved each other equally and they were always equal with finances, each person paying for certain bills. And they would take turns paying for dinner when they occasionally went out. They were equals, but Serena never saw it like that.

“Oh my god, not that rubbish again,” Serena said as she rolled her eyes and tilted her head back. “Just take me home, please. I need a giant glass of Shiraz,” she sighed.

“Serena, it’s not even 10am!” Bernie said as she started the car.

“Don’t care, I need it and deserve it,” she sighed.

Bernie just shook her head. She loved her little wine aficionado.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know that 50 year old women don't typically run a 5k but I had a hard time thinking of what to do with this prompt!


	10. Laughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena discovers something new about Bernie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one turned out lame and is shorter than all the others because I'm not feeling very well but I've got a busy weekend and won't have time to write.

Bernie & Serena had just started seeing each other outside of work. They would go out to eat together or one of them would cook dinner at their house, and on occasion, they would spend a Saturday afternoon watching tv together. They both agreed to take this new relationship, whatever it was, slow because neither one of them were in a rush and if they were honest, they were scared.

It was a Saturday afternoon and Serena was sitting on the sofa at Bernie’s apartment, flipping through iPlayer when Bernie walked in with two cups of tea. She sat them down on the table in front of Serena and sat down on the couch next to her as she clicked on a show.

“What’s this, then?” Bernie asked when she saw a lady sitting on a sofa.

“You’ve never seen this show? It’s Miranda, and it’s hilarious,” Serena said as she shifted and tucked herself into Bernie’s side.

“Nope, I don’t believe I’ve seen this,” she replied, wrapping her arm around Serena’s back.

“Well, you’re in for a treat,” Serena said with a smile.  
Seven and a half minutes into the episode found Miranda, Bernie figured out her name rather quickly, had just finished singing an Elton John tune in front of her family at a funeral and was now walking with her mother through a gravesite.

_Please, I want to leave with a shred of dignity intact. Oh, it was mortifying, I wish the ground could’ve swallowed me up._

_*Miranda falls into an open grave*_

“Bloody hell!” Bernie started laughing, but it suddenly turned into some sort of honk. Something she couldn’t stop and soon Serena was laughing because of how ridiculous it sounded.

“Oh my god, Bernie,” she laughed hysterically. “I’ve never heard you laugh before.” She couldn’t stop the tears from running down her face from laughing so hard.

Bernie kept on honking. Whenever she would laugh at something, she would have trouble stopping because her silly laugh made her laugh more. It was even worse when there were other people around, laughing with her, she hoped.

After about five minutes, when both of their stomachs hurt from the muscles contracting, and their faces stained with tears, they took a breath and looked into each other’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you I had an awful laugh in the beginning. I’m sure you think differently of me now,” Bernie said as she moved her eyes downward.

She has always hated her laugh, it was something she was teased about when she was younger. She was given the nickname Goose Wolfe when she was 7 and it followed her until she went to university, leaving her hometown helped a lot. Her laugh isn’t something she’s proud of, but it’s also something she can’t change, and she has tried.

“No, don’t be sorry. I love it, it’s something that’s unique about you. It’s what makes you, you.” Serena lifted Bernie’s chin so she could look into her eyes. “Actually, you sound like someone I’ve heard before,” she said as she reached for her phone that was laying next to her cup of tea.

She pulled up YouTube on her phone and typed in the search box, then clicked on the first video.

“Who is this?” Bernie asked as she watched a compilation of some woman laughing, which sounded a lot like herself.

“Jemma Redgrave, she’s an actress. I’ve seen her on Doctor Who and other shows,” Serena said when the video was over. “She sort of looks like you, but I think I like the way you look more,” Serena winked at Bernie.

“You’re something else, Campbell,” she chuckled as she pulled Serena into a hug.

At least she doesn’t have to worry about Serena making fun of her laugh, which made her like her even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you at least laughed a little?


	11. Staring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 times Bernie gets caught staring at Serena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this one. Most of it is canon.

Serena Campbell was gorgeous in Bernie Wolfe’s eyes. Serena caught Bernie staring at her several times since they first met 3 years ago.

**i.**

It was when they slept together for the first time, the day Bernie returned from Kiev. Bernie had just removed Serena’s bra and threw it in a pile with the rest of their clothes as she stepped back to admire the woman she just revealed. Serena’s breasts were so full, her nipples perking up from the chill of the bedroom.

“You’re staring, Wolfe,” Serena said as she noticed Bernie’s eyes fixed on her chest.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. You’re just so beautiful, Serena,” Bernie gasped. She stepped forward and pressed her naked body against Serena’s and moaned at the feeling of their nipples brushing together. She pushed Serena onto the bed and for the rest of the night, she showed how she ‘more than liked’ Serena.

**ii.**

It happened when they were operating on Greta after she had Guinevere. What they thought was her appendix rupturing, was actually a perforated Meckel’s diverticulum that needed to be repaired.

After Bernie & Serena made up in front of the hospital doors, they headed back upstairs and prepared for surgery. Serena didn’t really want to operate on Greta, for a couple of reasons, so she just watched as Bernie and the rest of the team did the work.

At one point, Serena had to step in because the junior doctor that was handling the laparoscopic tools accidentally nicked a blood vessel in the Ileum, causing the abdomen to fill up with blood. Serena had to quickly cut Greta open and control the bleeding before she repaired the tear, yelling at people to get the instruments out and to hand her a scalpel. Bernie knew Serena had everything handled and just stepped back and watched the woman she loved, do what she did best.

After Serena did her part, with her gloves covered in blood, she stepped aside and let the junior doctor redeem himself by closing up, she knew he could handle that, but she watched him just in case. As she was looking down, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that from across the table, Bernie was staring at her.

“You’re staring, Wolfe,” Serena mumbled quiet enough that only Bernie understood what she said.

“Sorry,” Bernie replied as she bowed her head, her cheeks reddening under her surgical mask.

As they were washing their hands at the sink after the surgery, Bernie turned and looked at Serena.

“I can’t help but stare. You did amazing in there, Serena,” Bernie said with nothing but love in her eyes.

“Something I’ve done a hundred times, but thank you,” Serena smiled.

**iii.**

It was when Bernie saw Serena’s natural hair for the first time. It was the last time they saw each other in person before Bernie headed to Nairobi and Serena headed back to Holby. They were able to video chat many times, but it was always when Serena had just taken a shower and her hair was in a towel as it slowly lost the brunette hair dye and the grey came through.

Bernie came walking to Serena after getting her luggage from baggage claim, she would’ve missed the woman if Serena hadn’t shouted her name.

“Oh my god, your hair!” Bernie gasped as she sat her stuff down and hugged Serena tightly and ran her fingers through the silver strands.

They grabbed a taxi back to Serena’s and spent the rest of the evening drinking the best wine in the world and showed how much they missed each other. Bernie was staying for a few days before jetting off to Nairobi to open a trauma center, something the city needed.

During those days, Bernie had a difficult time keeping her eyes off Serena and her hands out of Serena’s hair. She had a thing for natural beauty, she didn’t mind that Serena’s skin wasn’t smooth in places that should be, she loved her body and all its honesty.

“You’re staring, Wolfe,” Serena chuckled while they were sitting together on the sofa on the night before Bernie was to leave. That saying had officially become a thing now.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. I’m going to miss you so much, Serena,” Bernie said as she leaned forward and pressed kisses to Serena’s cheek. They didn’t know when they were going to see each other again, so Bernie was going to savor every minute. Her eyes could fall out from staring and she wouldn’t care because it would’ve been worth it.

**iv.**

2 weeks before Bernie came back in June to deal with house stuff. She was currently on Skype with Serena, the woman was absolutely glowing and it wasn’t just because Bernie’s laptop screen brightness was on the highest setting. She couldn’t wait to see Serena, to kiss her lips and explore the body she has been away from for 5 months.

“You’re staring, Wolfe,” Serena said when she noticed Bernie’s eyes fixed on the screen in front of her. She knew what Bernie was staring at, the fluffy robe she was wearing had fallen open a bit and revealed the tops of her ample breasts.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. They’re just so amazing. I can’t wait to touch them, to touch you, all of you,” Bernie moaned and briefly ran her fingers down the laptop screen over Serena’s breasts and let out a sigh.

“Me too. Soon I hope,” Serena breathed, she could see and hear what Bernie was doing and it made her chest tingle as if she could feel Bernie’s fingers.

“Real soon,” Bernie smiled. She was counting down the days, but she wasn’t going to ruin the surprise.

**v.**

They eloped 2 months after they briefly broke up the night of Jason & Greta’s wedding. It was actually on the exact day they met 3 years ago. They both giggled about how they first met while on the way to the registrar's office outside of Holby. They didn’t want to make a big deal about getting married so they didn’t tell anyone and just picked employees at the office to be witnesses. They figured 2 women in their 50s getting married was nothing to get excited about.

After they were officially married, they ended up going back to AAU and telling everyone what they had done and decided to have a small reception at Albie’s. Everyone was super excited for them and couldn’t wait to celebrate with them.

When they were both partied out, they took a cab to Serena’s and celebrated their marriage properly, both showing nothing but love for each other well into the night.

The next morning, Bernie slowly opened her eyes and almost gasped at what she saw. Her beautiful wife was sleeping so peacefully next to her. She reached her hand forward and brushed her thumb over Serena’s cheek as she looked at her, she couldn’t help herself.

“You’re staring, Wolfe,” Serena said groggily, she didn’t even have to open her eyes to know what Bernie was doing.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. You’re just so beautiful, Mrs. Wolfe,” she chuckled.

“Mrs. Wolfe, I like the sound of that,” Serena laughed.

“Good, because you’re finally mine,” Bernie husked as she shuffled closer to Serena and pulled her into a hug. They did it. They were going to be together forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked this one!
> 
> My writing class is over next Friday so hopefully I'll be able to start back up with my other one-shot collection and maybe start working in my nano fics. Fingers crossed I have motivation!


	12. Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie receives a voicemail from Serena

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized this doesn't really fit the prompt of drunk.....

Bernie left Albie’s and went straight to Serena’s to pick up her bags and checked into a hotel, the same one that she planned on staying at 6 months ago when she & Serena broke up for an hour the day Guinevere was born.

When the cab stopped in front of Serena’s place, she went in as quickly as she could and grabbed her things and came out 5 minutes later. She was worried Serena would come walking in the door while she was there and she didn’t want to see her again.

After she checked into her room, she came back down and sat down on a stool at the hotel’s bar, she just really needed another drink. As soon as she took her first gulp of whiskey, her phone rang. It was Serena, of course, it was. She let it ring, she didn’t want to talk to her over the phone. She was hurt by what Serena told her, and angry at Jason for saying those things to Serena. Or maybe she was angry at herself and not Jason, that it’s her fault that she loves working abroad so much, but also loves Serena, but not enough to come back home to her. So many thoughts ran through her head, that was why she couldn’t take Serena’s call.

Her phone beeped again, Serena had left a voicemail. Bernie finished the rest of her drink and walked back up to her room. She sat down on her bed and took a deep breath before she clicked on the voicemail.

_“Bernie? I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for what happened with Leah, if I didn’t say sorry earlier, I’m saying it now. You were right, it was your fault, Bernie. You left me. You always leave me. When I was in France and you visited, you left me and went to Sudan. Then you went to Nairobi and never came back, and I hardly heard from you. I was lonely, Bernie. I needed you, but you weren’t here. I don’t want you to call me back, I just needed to get it all out. Take care, Bernie.”_

Bernie took another deep breath, she could tell by Serena’s voice and slurred speech that she was very drunk, so much so that she probably won’t remember leaving that voicemail in the morning. Bernie threw her phone on the bed, she was now angry at Serena, she was right, it was all her fault, but it hurt hearing Serena say it now, after saying it wasn’t Bernie’s fault in the office.

She didn’t know what to do now. Should she go see Serena? Would that make things even worse? Would she regret it?

“Screw it,” she said to herself. She was going to Serena’s.

She called down to the front desk and had them call for a cab while she freshened up a bit. She didn’t know why she was, but she felt the need to.

When the cab pulled up in front of Serena’s, Bernie took a deep breath, she had been doing that a lot lately, before paying the driver and getting out. She asked the driver to stay for a minute just in case.

She walked slowly up to the front door and gently knocked on it. She knew Serena was home because her car was in the driveway, if Serena didn’t answer, it would be because she was sleeping, she almost always answered the door.

Bernie counted to 12 in her head before she started to turn around to head back to the cab. She had one foot on the next step when the front door opened.

“Bernie,” Serena gasped. Bernie turned around just in the nick of time for Serena to collapse into her arms.

Once she got Serena standing upright, she turned toward the cab and waved the driver off before Serena pulled Bernie through the door.

“Serena, I-,” was all Bernie could get out before she was cut off by Serena’s lips.

“I’m sorry for everything. What happened at Albie’s, in the office, how I’ve been acting the last week, just everything. I can’t say it enough,” Serena finally said when they pulled apart for air. Tears welling up in her eyes. “I didn’t plan on having _that_ conversation in the office, it was meant to be in private. But then you figured out what was going on, so I had to tell you then and there. I don’t regret saying those things over voicemail. It was your fault that I cheated, but it was mine as well, we’re both to blame,” she continued, the tears in her eyes were rolling down her face as she blinked.

“I’m sorry”, Bernie whispered. “I don’t know what to say.” She was at a loss for words.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Serena said as she stepped away from Bernie. “Why are you here?” She asked as she stood there with her arms folded with a grimace on her face, her mood had changed in an instant.

“I don’t know,” Bernie whispered again. “Can we sit down?” She asked. She didn’t think her legs would hold her up much longer. Serena’s words made her feel weak.

“Why are you here, Bernie?” Serena asked again. She really didn’t want to see Bernie so she tried to hurry things along.

“I was angry at what you said over the phone and instead of calling you and yelling at you or texting you, I thought I’d come over and do it in person. But I cooled down on the way over here,” she said. “What happened to us, Serena? How did we go from being so in love to this?” Bernie couldn’t believe everything went to shit in a matter of a week. She thought things were great between them.

“Leah happened to us,” Serena said, refusing to look at Bernie. “It’s her fault,” she said.

**“THEN WHY ARE YOU BLAMING ME FOR CHEATING?!?!”** Bernie suddenly yelled, her voice ringing throughout the room.

**“BECAUSE YOU WEREN’T HERE! YOU’RE NEVER HERE! YOU'RE IN SOME FOREIGN COUNTRY AND I'M LEFT HERE ALL ALONE. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!”** Serena yelled back before breaking into a sob.

“You were supposed to join me. We were supposed to run the center together,” Bernie said a minute later when Serena’s sobs had stopped.

“I couldn’t leave Jason. I can’t leave Jason,” she whispered.

“Right,” Bernie sighed. She was pissed off at Jason if she was honest. It was his fault, too. Even Serena said so.

“Did you? Was there someone in Nairobi for you?” Serena asked. Bernie never came out and said she cheated as well so Serena had to know.

“No. I would never cheat,” Bernie scoffed.

“But you said you wouldn’t be lonely.” Serena was confused now.

“Yes, meaning I’d find someone eventually.” Bernie couldn’t believe Serena was asking. “I cheated on my husband. I fucked up the relationship with my children. I made the mistake once, I wasn’t going to do it again. God, Serena, who do you think I am?! A woman that cheats on every partner she has?!” Bernie had to stop herself before she said anymore.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Serena asked cautiously. She was hurt by what Bernie had said.

“Because we were in the middle of breaking up. I was hurt. I was sad, mad and trying to hold my emotions in. We were in a bar,” she said, never once looking at Serena for fear of bursting into tears. Or worse, kissing the life out of her and doing something stupid, which she has done in the past. “I should go,” she said as she stood up from the couch and walked towards the door. “Bye, Serena,” she said as she opened the door, refusing to turn around and look at the woman.

“Bye, Bernie,” Serena replied before she shut the door.

It was over. They were over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was actually easier to write because for once I didn't have them getting back together
> 
> I had to rewatch the breakup scene and that made me sob much like Serena did in this fic
> 
> Right now, I don't want them to ever get back together because Bernie deserves better.


	13. Fairy tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie doesn't believe in fairy tales

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short, but I think it's cute.

Bernie didn’t think true love existed. ‘True love only happens in fairy tales,’ her father told her several times when she was younger, and she believed him.

What she had with Marcus wasn’t true love, maybe it was for a split second at first, but it quickly became just 2 people living together and starting a family. Nothing more.

It finally hit her one night while they were watching a 5-month-old Guinevere. Jason & Greta took their advice and went out to see a movie that they were both interested in. Serena even gave them money so they could grab fish & chips beforehand, seeing that it was fish & chips night and didn’t want to mess up Jason’s schedule even more.

Bernie & Serena headed up the stairs towards the nursery to read a story before putting the baby to bed. Once inside the room, Serena sat down in the rocking chair and Bernie grabbed a book and handed it to Serena.

“This book is called Tiny _Kingdom_ ,” Serena said as she adjusted Guinevere on her lap so she could see the pictures.

“My mommy & daddy used to read this story to me when I was little,” Bernie told the little girl as she knelt next to the chair so she could see the pictures as well.

_“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived a little, teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, little, teeny, tiny castle. And one day, a handsome prince came riding by in a little, teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, little, teeny, tiny carriage. And the handsome prince and the beautiful princess fell in love, and went off to live together in a little, teeny, tiny, itty, bitty, little, teeny, tiny kingdom.”_

As Serena continued to read the book, Bernie looked at her with love in her eyes. She must’ve been in the fairy tale that Serena was reading because, at that moment, all she felt was pure love. This was it, this was true love. She had found her prince charming, or rather, princess charming and she didn’t even have to kiss a frog or eat a poisoned apple. All she needed was patience.

She never believed in that, ‘you’ll find love when you least expect it’ and, ‘don’t go out and find love, it will find you’ crap. She would’ve been okay with being single the rest of her life, but she definitely wasn’t complaining about her life now. She was happy and living in a fairy tale with the woman she loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny Kingdom was a book Gilda Radner read on her live show in the 80s. I don't think it's a real book, but when I was trying to think of a fairy tale, that was the only one I could think of. I left the inappropriate part out even though my friends wanted me to keep it in! It wouldn't have made sense and would've distracted from the rest of the story if I left it.


	14. Morocco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie visits someone special in Morocco

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short but I hope this one is okay!

It had been 10 months since Bernie & Serena split up and for some reason, Bernie needed to hear Serena’s voice. They hadn’t spoken or texted since _that_ night and it was probably for the best.

_“Hello”_

_“Hi. Henrik?”_

_“Yes, this is Henrik Hanssen”_

_“It’s Bernie. Bernie Wolfe”_

_“Ah, Ms. Wolfe. What can I do for you?”_

_“I’ve been trying to get ahold of Serena for 2 days but she hasn’t answered her phone. Do you know where she is?”_

_“Yes, Ms. Campbell is in Morocco”_

_“Morocco? What is she doing there?”_

_“She needed some time away from AAU but I don’t know how long she will be there.”_

_“Do you know where in Morocco she is?”_

_“Fes. She’s staying in a hotel. I will send you her contact information she has given me.”_

_“Thank you, Henrik”_

_“My pleasure, Ms. Wolfe. I hope you’re able to reach her. Take care.”_

_“Thanks. Bye”_

“Bloody hell, Serena. Morocco?” Bernie said quietly after she ended the call with Henrik. “Okay, I’m going to Morocco.” Now that she knew where Serena was, she didn’t want to just call her, she wanted to see her in person. Hopping a plane to a random city wasn’t out of the ordinary for Bernie. She didn’t mind traveling the nearly 5,500 miles just to see the woman that broke her heart, she needed to see her, she couldn’t take it anymore.

Bernie stood outside Serena’s hotel room door and took a deep breath. She could tell she was in there because she heard the tv on. She hoped Serena wouldn’t slam the door in her face or tell her to leave and to never contact her ever again. Bernie’s heart wouldn’t be able to take it.

She knocked on the door and waited.

‘B-Bernie? What the hell are you doing here?” Serena was shocked, obviously, but was she happy to see Bernie?

“I, um, I wanted-needed to see you. Is that okay?” Bernie was shaking a bit from fear, nervousness, and the fact that Serena was standing right in front of her. It took everything she had to not lean in and kiss her. She really missed Serena. She was still so in love with her.

“Y-Yeah. Come on in,” Serena replied. She was nervous too.

They both sat on the bed and talked for a good hour about what had been going on since they were last together, but they couldn’t deny how much they missed each other.

“I’ve missed you, Serena. So much,” Bernie said softly when she took Serena’s hand in hers.

“I’ve missed you too, Bernie,” Serena said, looking into Bernie’s eyes and seeing the emptiness inside that she caused.

“Can I kiss you?” Bernie whispered, never taking her eyes off Serena’s lips.

“Please,” she gasped. The second Bernie’s lips were pressed to hers, she stuck her fingers in Bernie’s hair. She missed those blonde curls like crazy.

They both deepened the kiss and soon they were exploring each other’s body, getting reacquainted.

After they spent a couple of hours in bed together, they decided to go sightseeing around the city.

Neither Bernie nor Serena knew what this all meant. They didn’t want to think about it if they were honest. They were just going to take it one second at a time and see what happened next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This prompt was hard to be honest


	15. Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena get caught in the rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny that as I wrote this one, it was raining really hard outside my window.

Bernie couldn’t believe Serena had just gotten up after breaking up with her and walked away, but she understood why because she was going to meet her grand-niece. She sat there for a while and gathered her thoughts before she got up and headed down to AAU to collect her things.

After Donna, Fleur & Jason told Serena she made the mistake of breaking up with Bernie, she knew she had to try to get her back. She briefly thought about going after her, maybe to find her still outside the hospital, but she changed her mind. She had work to do, a niece that still needed to be operated on and a nephew who had just become a father.

Bernie stood outside the hospital and waited for the taxi to show up. She reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out a lighter and a cigarette. Yes, she started smoking again, but it was nothing like how she used to smoke. She would only have a couple of puffs when she was anxious; like before she had to do a presentation for the board in Nairobi, she really hated public speaking. This time she wasn’t anxious, she was just emotional. She just broke up with the woman she loved, the woman she would fly thousands of miles just to be able to see her and touch her. She really really missed physically being with Serena. Here she was, heartbroken and smoking, all because she loved Serena too much.

After her shift was over and Greta, Jason & Guinevere were all settled in, Serena got in her car and thought about her next move. Would it be a good idea to go see Bernie? Where was she anyway? She couldn’t have gotten far, Serena thought, her house was in the process of being sold so it was unavailable. Was she at Serena’s house possibly? Serena had given her a key when she left last year, just in case.

Serena sat in her car for a good 5 minutes before finally making a decision. She grabbed her phone and texted Bernie.

_Hi Bernie. Where are you? I want to come and see you if you’ll let me._

Serena’s phone beeped less than a minute after she sent it.

_Hi. I’m at the Holiday Inn outside of town._

Serena breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid would reject her and tell her to stay out of her life or something. She knew she hurt Bernie. That look she saw on her face when she turned around after she got up from the floor shattered her heart into pieces, and she regretted not going back to her. She couldn’t change the past, but she can change the future, and that’s what she’s going to do.

It had started raining when Serena got off and it got worse the further away from the hospital she drove. After a 40 minute drive, the rain really slowing traffic down, she pulled into the hotel parking lot. She took a deep breath before getting out and headed for the front entrance. It was pouring down rain now so she walked as quickly as she could, she didn’t want to look too horrible when talking to Bernie.

While walking quickly towards the automatic doors, Serena had her head down to avoid getting rainwater in and around her eyes, she didn’t notice someone sprinting towards her until they had ahold of her face.

It was Bernie.

She had been waiting in the lobby and looking out the window for 20 minutes. When she saw Serena’s car pull up, she jumped out of the chair at lightning speed.

Serena was an inch away from the awning of the hotel entrance when Bernie bolted towards her, grabbed her face with both hands and kissed the air out of her. Serena’s brain quickly caught up and deepened the kiss. She was no longer worried about wet hair because Bernie’s was now wet as well.

When they finally parted for air, Bernie grabbed Serena’s hand and led her inside the hotel and towards her room.

As they stood in the elevator by themselves, Bernie couldn’t help but run her fingers through Serena’s gray hair.

“Sorry that your hair’s wet,” Bernie said, trying to look like she was sorry but failing.

“It’s not the only thing that is wet right now,” Serena sighed.

“Really?” Bernie raised her eyebrows and pressed her lips to Serena’s again.

“Yes,” Serena gasped as the kiss was deepened once again.

Bernie shoved her tongue inside and pulled Serena in closer which made their breasts press together. It had been 5 very long months since they had this kind of contact and by the moans coming out of Bernie’s mouth, she missed this as much as Serena did.

When the elevator arrived on the 3rd floor, they pulled apart and Serena followed Bernie to her room. As soon as they got inside, they both went crazy. They quickly stripped each other of the wet clothing and climbed into the warm, dry bed.

5 months without physical contact had no effect on their intimacy. It was as if they had never been apart. They knew each other’s bodies and they were soon molded into one.

They spent a couple of hours exploring one another at a slow pace. They had many more hours together and there wasn’t a need to rush.

They had fallen asleep after midnight and when they woke up and once they had showered and eaten breakfast, they finally sat down to really talk without any interruptions.

They both loved each other, that was obvious, but were they going to let distance be the reason they couldn’t be together? No, they weren’t. They were going to find a way to make this relationship work, even if it killed them. They would have to do more traveling, which they were fine with because they could rack up air miles to use for vacations later. And Bernie was totally okay with having to travel more, it meant not only would she get to see Serena, the love of her life, but also Jason, Greta, and their new baby. She really couldn’t be happier. They both couldn’t be happier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The focus ended up being more on Serena in this one and I hate it because I originally planned to have Serena standing out in the rain for some reason but the fic took a different turn.
> 
> There have been a lot of days where I wanted to only write fics where they don't get back together, but I've noticed that you guys like them better when they're together so I'm gonna try to stick to those kinds of fics. Maybe I'll write break up fics in a different collection.


	16. Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Treasure hunts aren't just for kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this one is late! I had a busy week with eye appointments and then I went out of town and was supposed to be back yesterday(Sunday) but I had car trouble and had to stay another night and I didn't have my laptop with me. I will be better about the next prompt!

Sunday, April 21st had Bernie & Serena sitting on the couch drinking their afternoon cup of tea. Serena sat hers down on the table beside her and grabbed the card and bag of Cadbury eggs, Bernie’s favorite, and handed them to her.

“Happy Easter, Bernie,” Serena smiled.

“Thank you,” Bernie replied as she shifted and reached into her back pocket and pulled out a card and handed it to Serena.

Serena’s card to Bernie was sweet and full of love, just like Serena, but the one Bernie gave contained a surprise.

_Happy Easter, Serena! Here’s where your treasure hunt will begin, so read the clues to see what you win!_

“Bernie, what is this?” Serena asked. She knew what it was, but she was just shocked Bernie would do something this silly.

“A treasure hunt. I wanted to do something fun this year.” Bernie just shrugged. She thought Serena would enjoy this, but maybe she was wrong. “If you don’t want to do it, that’s fine,” Bernie said as she looked down at the floor, a little embarrassed.

“Oh! No, I do. I just didn’t expect this.” Serena got closer to Bernie and pressed their lips together to reassure Bernie. Serena leaned back and continued to read the card.

_Your first clue is an easy one, check the appliance that gets hot like the sun._

Serena stood up from the couch and walked into the kitchen and headed straight for the oven, Bernie slowly trailing behind. When she opened the door, she found 5 plastic Easter eggs inside. When she opened them, she discovered that 4 of them contained mini versions of her favorite chocolates. The 5th egg had a folded note with the next clue on it.

_You found the chocolate! It’s a good thing the oven wasn’t turned on or it would’ve been a mess inside!_

_Your second clue is nothing to lose, look near the place where we sometimes take a snooze._

Serena walked back into the living room toward the couch she & Bernie was just sat on. Sitting on the table next to her, now cold cup of tea was a cute, little bunny rabbit that Bernie had placed when Serena was headed toward the kitchen. As Serena got closer, she noticed the bunny had a tiny note between its front paws.

_What’s the difference between a bunny and a rabbit?_

_I have no idea, but they’re both cute like you!_

_Your third clue is easier than it sounds, find the next surprise where your reading glasses can be found._

Serena headed up the stairs as fast as she could, she was finally getting into this treasure hunt Bernie had created.

Sitting next to Serena’s glasses on her bedside table was a rose in a skinny vase with a note gently attached to the stem. Serena leaned over and smelled the rose before she plucked the card and began reading it.

_I can’t wait to see the rose fully bloom!_

_Roses are beautiful just like you, come find me for your fourth and final clue._

Serena couldn’t believe what she was seeing, tears started to form in her eyes. When she walked down the stairs, towards the living room, she found Bernie at the bottom of the staircase on one knee with a ring box in her hand.

“Serena. I love you so much. From the minute I saw you outside of the hospital next to your car, whose alternator was cactus, I knew I wanted to get to know you. Two weeks later, at the most inappropriate time, I fell in love with you. I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. As every day passes, I fall more and more in love with you. I hope you feel the same about me as I feel about you be-.” Bernie was cut off before she could finish.

“I do-I really do,” Serena rushed out, trying not to cry.

“Good, because I never want to be without you ever again. So, Serena Wendy Campbell, will you marry me?” Bernie asked. Tears were now forming in her eyes.

“Yes! Yes! Oh my god, yes!” Serena laughed as she bent down and pressed her lips to Bernie’s and pulled her up so they were both standing.

Easter 2019 was one that neither Bernie nor Serena would ever forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I thought this was a cute idea and I was surprised by how easy it was to think of the riddles!


	17. Shakespeare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena have some quiet time together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey this one isn't late!!!!! This was a hard prompt because I don't know that much about Shakespeare......

One evening in April, Bernie & Serena were sitting together on the couch in a room that Serena called the ‘quiet room’, a place filled with bookcases and various pieces of small furniture with pillows. It was a where place Jason could go when he needed some quiet time. No electronic devices were allowed inside the room, apart from a machine that played calm sounds and soothing music. As of recently, she found herself in the quiet room every other day. The stresses of work and taking care of Jason on a daily basis had taken a toll on the woman and she just needed to recharge sometimes.

Serena just needed some time to regroup and asked Bernie to join her. They had been exclusively dating for a month and things were going smoothly. Getting to work with the woman you fancied was an exciting experience for both of them and it made the new relationship even better.

“What do you usually do while you are in here?” Bernie asked as she gently massaged Serena’s scalp that was in her lap.

“Sometimes I read. Sometimes I rest my eyes. I’m usually only in here for about 30 minutes until something or someone distracts me,” Serena said. Almost letting out a moan when Bernie hit the spot behind her ear.

“How about I read you something, then?” Bernie reached up with one hand and grabbed the nearest book she could reach on the bookshelf next to them. “Ooh, are you up for a bit of Shakespeare, my love?” Bernie asked when she saw that she had grabbed a book filled with Shakespeare’s sonnets.

“Of course. I’ll listen to whatever you read,” Serena purred. Bernie’s voice turned her on if she was honest with herself.

Bernie fanned the pages quickly and stopped on a random one, smiling to herself when she saw the one she picked. She was familiar with Shakespeare’s sonnets, she had read several of them years ago. She enjoyed the way Shakespeare wrote, had tried to write like that in her diary when she was younger.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” She read as she resumed Serena’s scalp massage. “Thou art more lovely and more temperate,” she continued, her voice dropping a bit for effect.

_Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,_   
_And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;_   
_Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,_   
_And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;_   
_And every fair from fair sometime declines,_   
_By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm'd;_   
_But thy eternal summer shall not fade,_   
_Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;_   
_Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,_   
_When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:_   
_So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,_   
_So long lives this, and this gives life to thee._

“Shall I continue?” She asked as she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Serena’s hair.

“Mmm, yes please,” Serena moaned. Relaxed by Bernie’s voice and lost in thought, she was in  
a trance.

As Bernie read another sonnet, from Romeo & Juliet, it got her thinking.

_Now old desire doth in his death-bed lie,_   
_And young affection gapes to be his heir;_   
_That fair for which love groan'd for and would die,_   
_With tender Juliet match'd, is now not fair._   
_Now Romeo is beloved and loves again,_   
_Alike betwitchèd by the charm of looks,_   
_But to his foe supposed he must complain,_   
_And she steal love's sweet bait from fearful hooks:_   
_Being held a foe, he may not have access_   
_To breathe such vows as lovers use to swear;_   
_And she as much in love, her means much less_   
_To meet her new-beloved any where:_   
_But passion lends them power, time means, to meet_   
_Tempering extremities with extreme sweet._

“I wonder what Romeo & Juliet would be like if they were a lesbian couple,” she asked when  
she finished the sonnet.

“Well, for starters, it would be called Romea & Juliet. I think they would both be killed if people found out they were gay,” Serena said as she sat up and faced Bernie.

“Which one would you be? I’d be Romea, obviously,” Bernie said matter-of-factly.

“Why Romea?” Serena furrowed her eyebrows.

“Because she’s the female version of Romeo, she would probably be a bit butch, like me,” Bernie said, puffing out her chest for emphasis.

“Ha! You’re butch?” Serena’s laugh earned her a smack to the arm. “Oh, right. You’re the big macho army medic. Sorry, I forgot.” Serena scooched closer and curled herself into Bernie’s side, resting her head on her shoulder.

“And don’t you forget it,” Bernie chuckled as she kissed the top of Serena’s head again before shifting to get comfortable. Both of them taking a little snooze together in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting next week I'll be writing more(I hope) because my online class will finally be over! So keep an eye out for updates on my other one-shot collection!


	18. Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie picks flowers out for Serena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really know what this is but I thought it was funny.
> 
> I finally finished my college class on Sunday and I thought that would motivate me to write more, but it didn't. I'll get my groove back one of these days.....

February 2nd, 2020. Bernie Wolfe was in a local floral shop going over the details for her impending wedding. Her & Serena had broken up in December of 2019 but 10 months apart gave both of them plenty of time to realize that they had made a huge mistake. Bernie came back to Holby in October where they reconciled and had been together ever since. Bernie was lucky enough to get a position in the ED which meant she could spend most of her lunch breaks with Serena.

The wedding was 3 weeks away, on the 23rd. They chose to get married on the anniversary of the day they first met outside of the hospital because it was such a special day for both of them. When they weren't working, they were planning a wedding, something that both of them thought they would never do again, but were so happy at the same time. It was a lot of work, whether the wedding was in 4 months or 14 months.

Bernie had proposed to Serena a week after she came back to Holby. If she was honest, she had been planning to propose to her for years, unfortunately, several things had gotten in the way, but it had never left her mind.

Bernie left the floral shop with some flowers to give Serena because she wanted to. She was satisfied with what she chose for Serena's bouquet, she couldn't wait until Serena saw them.

 

Their wedding day had finally arrived and they were so excited and nervous. They weren't much into traditions but Serena ended up staying with Jason, Greta & Guinevere so she could see them before leaving for the honeymoon for a week.

They had just finished getting dressed, Serena in a beautiful grey dress and Bernie in a matching suit, grey symbolizing that this was their second marriage. 

There was a knock on the door and when Bernie went to answer it, a small box was handed to her. Her face lit up when she realized what was inside.

When Serena had gotten her shoes on, Bernie handed her the box to open. The look on her face was something Bernie would remember for a very long time.

"Oh Bernie, it's so beautiful!" Serena exclaimed. The box had contained Serena's bouquet of flowers. Bernie had a tough time deciding which flowers to use but judging by Serena's reaction, she didn't do too bad.

"I'm so glad," Bernie smiled at her. "Let me explain them to you," she said as touched Serena's hand that was holding the flowers. As she pointed to each flower, she said what it symbolized and how she saw it in Serena. Alstroemeria for friendship because they became friends first. Daffodil for rebirth and new beginnings because they had been through a lot but this was their start at a new life. "And Gladiolus for strength. I don't have to say much about this flower because I hope you know how strong you've been. With everything that happened with Elinor and afterward, your display of strength was something I've never seen. It was beyond tough, I know that, but you hung in there and you were amazing." Both Bernie & Serena had tears in their eyes when Bernie was finished.

Bernie stepped away for a second and reached into her bag and pulled out a sandwich bag which contained another flower.

"I found this the other day when I was out running. The sun was shining on it and it looked so beautiful that I had to pick it up and add it to your bouquet," Bernie said as she stepped forward and tried to add it to the other ones but they were wrapped so tightly together, she ended up having to put it on the outside where the ribbon was.

The venue that they chose was so beautiful. Practically everyone from Holby had shown up and filled most of the seats. Bernie stood next to the reverend and was excited and nervous as ever, waiting for the love of her life to join her. Her palms started to itch from the sweat that had accumulated. She wasn't like this at her first wedding many years ago, possibly nervous but for a different reason.

When she finally saw Serena walking with Ric Griffin, her face lit up. As she got closer her heart started pounding, she just couldn't wait to finally be married to Serena Campbell.

Serena reached Bernie and handed her bouquet to Essie di Lucca, her one and only bridesmaid, so she could hold Bernie's hands.

As the ceremony started and the opening song started playing, Serena could sense Bernie's nervousness and felt her palms.

"Are you okay?" Serena whispered to her soon-to-be-wife.

"Yeah just really nervous and excited," she whispered back. "Sorry my hands are sweaty," she chuckled.

"It's fine. Mine are itchy, for some reason," she said with a quizzical look on her face.

"Really? So are mine," Bernie said a little shocked.

"Nerves maybe? Or it means we're going to get a lot of money soon," Serena laughed but as she turned her hands over and looked at them and saw Bernie's, she knew exactly what it was. "Oh my god Bernie, it's poison sumac," she laughed a little too loud.

"What?" Bernie was confused.

"The flower you stuck in the bouquet earlier, it's poisonous. That's why our palms are itching," she laughed again.

"Oh my god Serena, what do we do?" she asked as she looked around and hoped no one else heard.

"Let's get married first and worry about it later, okay?" Serena took Bernie's hands again and squeezed them. She could tell Bernie was panicking a bit.

"Yeah," Bernie sighed. She felt like such an idiot. How did she not know what poison sumac looked like? 

When the ceremony was over and Bernie & Serena had kissed, they went straight back to the changing room and got rid of the poisonous plant. Luckily, Essie was the only other person exposed to it and was notified when she handed Serena the bouquet back to her.

Their wedding wasn't exactly what they expected, but they wouldn't have changed a thing. The poison sumac made it unique and that was special to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like that would happen to Bernie and not just on her wedding day. Or maybe to me because I don't know much about poisonous plants or plants and flowers in general.


	19. Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena gets hurt and Bernie's reaction is unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is really short and contains some swearing.

It was Saturday afternoon and Bernie was watching TV when all of a sudden she heard a thud coming from the kitchen.

“Shit! Owwww!”

Bernie ran in to see what had happened.

“Oh my god, Serena, are you okay?” She asked when she saw her partner laying flat on her back on the hard floor.

“No, I bloody slipped on a banana peel and I think I hurt myself,” Serena said as she tried to sit up but a sharp pain in her tailbone that shot up her spine prevented her from moving any further.

Instead of helping Serena up, Bernie burst into her signature laugh, much like a goose honking. Normally, Serena loved hearing Bernie’s laugh, but now was not the time for Bernie to unleash her inner goose.

“I’m so sorry, Serena, but this is hilarious,” Bernie said between honks, she just couldn’t suppress them.

“Will you stop laughing and help me up?!” Serena was getting frustrated and just wanted to get up off of the floor. “Please explain because I really don’t see the hilarity in this,” she groaned once she was standing.

“You know? Almost every cartoon has someone slipping on a banana peel, it’s classic. I didn’t think it was a real thing, but you have proved me wrong, so thank you,” Bernie said, clearly amused by the whole thing. Serena just shook her head and rolled her eyes at Bernie’s amusement.

“You’re welcome, I guess. Shit, that hurt. Why is there a bloody banana peel on the floor, anyway?” Serena sighed.

“I guess I missed the bin, sorry,” Bernie said. “I wished I could’ve seen it happen, though. Did you fall back like the cartoons?” She asked as she began to giggle again. She was such a child.

“I honestly can’t remember, it happened so fast. Fuck, I think I broke my coccyx. I need you to take me to Holby” she groaned again. “Bernie!” She snapped at her.

“Right, sorry. Okay, let’s go get your broken butt checked out,” she snickered as she ushered Serena towards the door to leave.

After getting past the embarrassment and explaining to her colleagues what had happened, they took an X-Ray and thankfully, found no indication of a fracture, just really bruised.

The 2 were sent home with ice packs and a donut cushion for Serena to sit on and everyone on AAU agreed to never mention the incident ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this was a funny take on the prompt so I wrote it.
> 
> Blame my friend [Markaleen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/markaleen/) for currently being obsessed with Gilligan's Island and putting the idea in my head. Love you, nerd MAP sommers! ❤️


	20. Tea Leaves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tea isn't for everyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a hard time getting myself to write this week, but at least I got something out!

Bernie loved coffee. Spending many years in the army practically made her blood type coffee and lack of sleep. When she returned to civilian life, she tried to kick the coffee addiction by switching to decaf in the hopes her body would stop craving caffeine, but it made the addiction worse. She even tried tea, all sorts of tea, because the British love their tea, but it wasn’t her, ‘cup of tea’, as she put it and again she found herself reaching for the K-cups and loading up her Keurig.

Bernie truly got familiar with tea not long after she returned from Ukraine. She spent more time at Serena’s house after work and watched Serena make tea for herself. Serena loved tea almost as much as she loved Shiraz. Unlike wine, Serena was a fan of many different kinds of tea, but she always went for the more fruity flavors as opposed to bitter, her favorite was a kind was an herbal tea called Caribbean Crush. She was even able to convince Bernie that a few of them weren’t the worst thing she had ever tasted.

One Saturday morning while Serena was still in the shower, Bernie made her way downstairs to fix herself a coffee, when she decided to give a crack at making Serena a cup of tea. Serena had purchased a tea steeper the day before, replacing her old one, and Bernie was curious as to how it worked.

First, she grabbed a mug and the steeper. Then, she grabbed the tin of Caribbean Crush from the cupboard and began running hot water in the sink. While she waited for the water to be ready, she popped a K-cup in the Keurig and got her coffee going as well. When the water was nearly boiling, she gathered some in a small pitcher and brought it over to the rest of the supplies. She then put 2 spoonfuls of the tea leaves into the steeper followed by the hot water. As she waited for the tea to finish steeping, she finished making her coffee by adding some milk and sugar.

Once the tea was done, she set the steeper on top of the mug, expecting the tea to come out automatically, but it didn’t. She was confused as to why it wasn’t working so she lifted the steeper up to make sure nothing was broken, she didn’t really know what she was looking for if she was honest. She thought that maybe it needed a little help at getting started, because it was brand new and hadn’t been used yet, so she pressed on the bottom of it, causing the tea to shoot out everywhere. She quickly removed her slightly burnt hand and set the steeper down on the counter. The floor and counter were now drenched with the fruity liquid. She also noticed that one of the drawers was open and now all the cooking utensils were also covered in tea. Not knowing what to clean up first, Bernie backed away from the mess and grabbed her coffee and took a sip.

Serena soon walked into the kitchen and made her way over to Bernie.

“What happened here?” She had a confused look on her face as she glanced at the mess.

“I tried to make you a cup of tea with the steeper, but it didn’t work out, sorry,” she said as she bowed her head.

“It’s okay. It’s hard to figure out at first. When I used my other one for the first time, I got tea all down the front of me. Don’t try to figure out how it works while raised above your head with water and leaves inside,” Serena chuckled as she rubbed Bernie’s arm in comfort.

Serena showed Bernie how to use the steeper and soon, with their drinks and blueberry muffins Serena made the night before, in their hands, they made their way to the couch and sat down to enjoy some time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my pal [Markaleen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/markaleen/) for helping me with this one! She's a tea connoisseur! ❤️


	21. Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Strong and hot", was all Serena cared about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is definitely an AU. All of my previous fics are, I just figured I'd point it out this time.

"Strong and hot is all I care about," Serena said to Bernie while they both stood in line at Pulses before going up to AAU.

Fast forward to a time where Bernie & Serena are together.

It was a month and a half after Elinor died. Bernie & Serena were still together, but their relationship was a bit rough because of what Serena was going through, which Bernie completely understood, but that didn't stop her from being there for Serena whenever and however she could.

Saturday morning, while on their way out of town, Bernie wanted to get Serena out of Holby for the weekend, she tried having a conversation with Serena about who invented lawns, something Bernie thought of while glancing out the window and seeing grass, but it wasn't working. Bernie just wanted Serena to talk, she had been mostly silent since Elinor had passed, speaking only when she had to, even at work, and to be honest, Bernie was going crazy with the silence. Serena used to be so talkative, but getting the complete opposite was starting to scare Bernie.

Once they were outside the city and heading towards the countryside, Bernie decided to change her approach.

"Please talk to me," Bernie said when Serena refused to talk. "I need to know that you're okay," she said as she rested her hand on Serena’s.

"I'm not okay. I'll never be okay," Serena muttered while looking out the window.

"I know that. I just want to help in some way. I feel helpless,” she replied.

“Bring my daughter back,” Serena said without missing a beat.

“I-I can’t do that, you know I can’t.” Bernie had tears forming in her eyes, making her vision blurry but she quickly blinked them away.

“Then you can’t help me. No one can help me.” Serena ended the conversation by turning the radio on.

A minute later Stevie Wonder’s _Isn't She Lovely_  came on and Serena immediately started sobbing. It was only the second time she had cried since the day Elinor died and Bernie breathed a sigh of relief because although it was heartbreaking to witness it, it was good for Serena to let it out.

As the song went on, Serena’s sobs turned into her hyperventilating and Bernie had to do something calm her down.

“Deep breaths, Serena,” she said as she rubbed her arm to try to soothe her.

It didn’t work and Bernie began to panic. She remembered she had vomit bag in the glovebox of the car that Serena could breathe into and quickly reached over to get it, taking her eyes off the road for one second, but that’s all it took for everything to change.

‘BERNIE!” Serena screamed.

When Bernie looked back ahead, they were on the opposite side of the road and a massive truck was heading straight for them. Her gut instinct caused her to jerk the wheel back as quickly as she could, which was something you should never do. Because they were going over 50 mph, the car spun around and did a couple of rolls until it landed in a cornfield upside down.

2 minutes later Bernie woke up to herself thankfully still strapped to her seat, her head bleeding from hitting the window. When she looked to her right, expecting to see Serena, the seat was empty. She looked around as best as she could but couldn’t find her. When her eyes fell onto the passenger side window, her heart jumped into her throat. The glass was completely gone which meant Serena was ejected from the car even though she was wearing a seatbelt.

“SERENA?!” Bernie yelled for her partner.

“Bernie! Help!” came a reply from outside of the car.

Bernie immediately started breathing heavy and she rushed to undo her seat belt and fell to the ceiling of the car. The window beside her had cracked but didn’t shatter so she quickly punched it with her hand until the glass fell away and climbed out.

When she stood up, her legs yelled at her, she probably fractured them, but this wasn’t about her right now.

Bernie called for Serena again as she looked around. When she got to the passenger side of the car she saw Serena lying on the ground. She breathed a sigh of relief because she was alive and pretty conscious.

“Bernie, my leg, I can’t feel my leg,” she said as her breathing quickened when she realized she had lost feeling in her left leg.

Bernie didn’t have to get very close to see that the car was on top of Serena’s leg. They both knew time was of the essence so Bernie reacted quickly by assessing the situation.

“It’s okay, Serena. I’m here, I’ve got you,” she said as she was bent down next to her. “Can you move your other leg and arms?” she asked.

“Yeah, I think so.” Serena was actually terrified, but she trusted Bernie wholeheartedly.

“Okay, Serena, I’m going to get you out of there,” she said before she stood up.

Adrenaline was pumping rapidly inside Bernie so she knew it would help her with the next step. With Serena laying right under the passenger side window, Bernie stood on either side of Serena’s head and pressed her hands on the door of the car and pushed has hard as she could.

It took Bernie 5 tries but, miraculously, she was able to lift part of the car off of Serena so she could crawl out.

Bernie quickly reached inside the car and found her phone and quickly called an ambulance before she went back to Serena. She knew she had to keep her awake and alert until help arrived.

“I love you so much, Serena,” Bernie said as she laid on the ground next to her stroked her hair.

“I love you, too,” she said quietly as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

“Stay awake for me, love. The ambulance is almost here.” Bernie prayed silently to anyone that would listen that the ambulance would arrive soon.

“I’m sorry, Bernie,” Serena whispered several seconds later.

“Why are you sorry? I’m the one that should be sorry. We’re supposed to be in a little cottage relaxing, instead we’re laying on the ground in a cornfield and it’s all my fault,” she chuckled and heard one from Serena.

“Not your fault,” Serena said before her eyes closed.

“Serena? Serena, wake up.” Bernie tried to wake her but then she suddenly heard sirens.

Bernie & Serena were rushed to the hospital, Holby of course. Bernie had a broken leg and her opposite ankle was sprained, but she wasn’t worried because it could’ve been way worse. Because of Bernie’s quick thinking, the nerve damage in Serena’s leg was minimal.

“Strong and hot,” Serena said when Bernie wheeled her chair into Serena’s room.

“Do you want coffee or something?” Bernie remembered the last time Serena said that phrase.

“No, you. You’re strong and hot,” Serena smiled for the first time since Elinor died. Bernie figured it was the morphine, but she didn’t complain.

“You’re ridiculous,” she laughed. She held onto Serena’s hand tightly because it hit her that her life could’ve been so different right now.  
“It’s true. You’re so strong. You’ve been right by my side this whole time and I’m so grateful. But today you showed your greatest strength, you lifted a bloody car! You’re the strongest woman I know. Also, the hottest,” Serena said and winked at her.

“I love you.” Bernie leaned over and pressed her lips to Serena’s.

Serena was going to be okay, physically, and Bernie was going to make sure she was emotionally okay as well because she wasn’t the only strong one, Serena was so much stronger than her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked this one! I don't really know if it's physically possible to be trapped under a car like that when you're wearing a seatbelt but it was fun to write!


	22. Bartender

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being a bartender has its ups and downs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked this prompt and this one was easier to write. I hope you all enjoy it!

Every night she was there. Every night Bernie Wolfe saw her.

Serena Campbell struggled to cope with her mother’s dementia. The days that she was at work were hell, and the days she was off because her mother begged for her to visit her, though she didn’t always remember her. That’s what caused Serena to visit the bar every night. There was Albie’s near the hospital, but she didn’t like going there because she just needed a break from work colleagues, so she went to a different bar called Barley’s.

Bernie had been working at Barley’s for 3 months. She was on leave from the Army after getting severely injured from a roadside bomb. She knew she couldn’t go back on tour, and she wasn’t quite ready to physical work just yet, so she got a job at a bar. She loved to drink and she knew a lot about alcohol and wine just from reading different books over the years, so she thought that doing something she was interested in would be fun.

The first time Bernie saw Serena her heart skipped a beat, she thought she was really pretty in her leopard print blouse. Serena ordered a glass of Shiraz and Bernie almost spilled it all over herself when she went to hand it to her.

After seeing Serena every night for a month, Bernie got up the courage to talk to her. To say more than ‘another one?’ to her. She thought that giving her a free shot would help break the ice.

Bernie was working on a new shot recipe. She loved experimenting with different flavors and liquors. This one was called a Bloody Morgan, with all the ingredients of a Bloody Mary plus a splash of Captain Morgan rum. She thought it tasted good and so did the other bartenders.

“You look like you need a shot,” Bernie said as she sat the shot glass down in front of Serena at the bar while giving her a smile.

“Oh, thank you,” Serena replied after she downed the shot in one go, not minding the burning in her throat.  
“I made it myself. I call it a Bloody Morgan. It’s a Bloody Mary with a splash of Captain Morgan. What do you think?” Bernie was smiling, she was hoping she liked it.

“Did you say Captain Morgan?” Serena asked. Bernie nodded. “I have a nut allergy,” she said as if it was no big deal.

“Oh crap, how bad is it?” Maybe Bernie should’ve told her what was in it beforehand.

“It’s not that bad. My eyes just get itchy.” Serena shrugged.

“Okay, good.” Bernie breathed a sigh of relief.

2 minutes later Bernie noticed Serena’s eyes were getting puffy and she was coughing a bit.

“Are you okay?” She asked as she stood in front of her.

“Yeah. My reactions aren’t usually this bad,” Serena responded, her breathing a bit shallow. She was panicking a bit inside.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?” Bernie was starting to feel terrible for doing this to a woman that she liked.

“No, I think it will pass soon.” She really hoped it did. She had to admit that she liked Bernie. She looked to be about her age and seemed like a nice person.

“SERENA?!” Bernie yelled when she saw the woman slide off the bar stool and onto the floor. 

She ran around to her and noticed she was having trouble breathing. Bernie reacted quickly and went back behind the bar to grab something and rushed back to Serena. Bernie had an EpiPen on hand in case of emergencies. Being in the Army made her prepared for almost everything. She straightened one of Serena’s legs and jabbed it into her outer thigh.

“How did you know my name?” Serena asked about 30 seconds later when she got her breathing back.

“You pay your tab with a card. It’s kind of hard not to see your name,” Bernie chuckled as she knelt beside her. “Call an ambulance, please,” she said to no one in particular.

Bernie rode with Serena in the ambulance to the hospital, Holby City, of course. Her colleagues had a lot of questions, but their main focus was to make sure their boss was okay.

“You didn’t have to come with me,” Serena said when she was settled in a private room. Only the best for the vascular surgeon.  
“I did. I’m the one that caused this and I feel terrible,” Bernie said as she ducked her head, hiding her eyes behind her fringe as she sat next to Serena.

“I don’t even know your name,” she chuckled.

“Bernie. Bernie Wolfe,” she looked up at Serena and smiled.

“Well Bernie Wolfe, thank you, but you don’t have to feel terrible, you saved my life,” she smiled back as she reached for Bernie’s hand and held it in hers.

“You’re welcome. I like to be prepared for stuff,” she said.

Bernie’s heart was pounding out of her chest at the small contact between them. She really did like Serena and wanted to get to know her, before she almost kills her again.

Serena spends the night in the hospital just as a precaution. Bernie goes back to her flat to sleep and promises to come back in the morning to take her car or wherever she wants to go. Bernie doesn’t want to leave her side and honestly, Serena doesn’t want her to either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't think I'm gonna stop this fic there. I'd like to continue in a separate one and see how far their relationship goes and have Bernie be there when Serena's mother dies. I don't know when I'll get around to it, because I am horrible at updating my other one shot collection, but I'll keep you updated!


	23. Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena go on a retreat together, what could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never been on any kind of retreat, but they sound interesting.

Bernie & Serena had been happily married for 2 years when they decided to on a marriage retreat together, there wasn’t anything wrong with their relationship, they just figured it couldn’t make things any worse.

Serena found Serenity Spa on good old Google a while ago and now they were standing at the front door, excited to enjoy a relaxing weekend. The place was secluded and it was beautiful.

After they checked in and put their things in their room, they looked at the schedule. There were activities that were recommended that everyone should try at least once, and ones that you could do, but you didn’t have to. Both Bernie & Serena were interested in several of the activities on the list.

“I think I want to get a massage first before we do anything else,” Serena said, pointing to the sign that led to the special room.

Bernie wasn’t much into massages, she’s only had 2 in her life. She was picky about who put her hands on her body, but this weekend was about doing things as a couple and Bernie couldn’t chicken out on the first thing they did.

It was a special type of massage, not the ones you see on tv where the people are half naked with hot rocks on them. Once they were both in robes, the masseuse and masseur had them sit in big chairs that recline back and got to work on their feet. Bernie hated this part because her feet were so ticklish. Sitting beside them was a bowl of green goop and cucumbers, for their face, obviously.

“Serena, have you tried the dip?” Bernie asked after she popped a cucumber covered in the stuff in her mouth.

“What dip?” Serena’s eyes were closed and had no idea what Bernie had done.

“The avocado dip. It doesn’t taste like avocados, though. It actually tastes weird,” she said once the substance had coated her tongue.

“Oh my god, Bernie, that isn't dip! That’s a facial mask!” Serena’s eyes shot open when she realized what Bernie was talking about.

“Ew, what?!” Bernie spat the mask out onto the pile. “Then why are there cucumbers on here?!” she gagged.

“Those are for your water.” Serena held her glass of water up which had a cucumber floating around in it. “And for your eyes,” she said as she held two up in front of her face.

“Well, I feel like an ass,” Bernie mumbled and tilted her head down until her fringe covered her eyes. She could hear the 2 people in front of them trying their hardest not to laugh.

Bernie couldn’t wait to leave the massage room and never go back. Even after the face mask mishap, the massage wasn’t that great either.

One of the activities that were recommended, was yoga. Bernie & Serena had tried yoga before while they were still married to their husbands, and they both enjoyed it.

The yoga was outside, which was a bit odd, but the fresh air never hurt anyone.

As they walked up, they noticed an animal pen that had 8 small goats inside.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Bernie chuckled as they got closer, she knew exactly what was about to happen.

“Oh, come on, this will be fun!” Serena squealed as grabbed Bernie’s hand with anticipation.

“You’ve _goat_ to be kidding me!” she said. “No, this sounds like a _baaaad_ idea,” she laughed, like a goose, quite proud of her puns.

Serena rolled her eyes but continued to pull Bernie towards the group of people that were waiting for the instructor.

Bernie had no idea who came up with the name of each pose, but she felt like an idiot doing every one of them. What did dogs have to do with yoga? Were dogs able to do yoga some 25,000 years ago and that’s where the terms came from?

Besides having a goat jump on her back and hooves dug into her spine every 10 minutes or so, Bernie thought the yoga was somewhat relaxing. Serena loved it, having the goats on her back helped her posture a bit. She joked with Bernie about teaching their dog Mabel to jump on her back for 20 minutes a day. She was a cross between a long-haired Dachshund and a wirehaired Dachshund so she was the perfect size. Bernie joked back that being around the goats made her _“horn-y.”_ Serena rolled her eyes yet again at her wife’s stupid pun, but they did end up having some lovely alone time together before getting a bite to eat.

As the weekend went on, Bernie & Serena were able to relax and have a nice time together. They spend Sunday morning before checking out, at couples class. The type where you sit on a mat and hold hands, and you tell your spouse everything you love about them, how they make you a better person. They also told each other things that they themselves need to work on, such as communication, and in a calm way, what the other person needs to work on. Neither woman took offense to what the other one said and that showed how strong their relationship was for not knowing each other for very long.

Falling in love in your 50s and falling in love with a woman had its advantages. They felt like they could tell each other anything and everything. It’s like when you’re a teenager and you have a best friend, except this woman is also your wife and you’re both much older and more mature.

Bernie & Serena’s first marriage retreat together was overall a success, they were closer relationship-wise driving away from the place than they were driving towards it. They were definitely going to visit again, to relax and get away or even if they’re struggling in their marriage. They were officially fans of retreats.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the goat puns! I couldn't help myself! Goat yoga looks and sounds crazy, but I'd maybe try it.


	24. Bicker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena realize that it's okay to bicker once in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled to come up with an idea for this week's fic, so this one came out a bit silly.

It was a hot Saturday in July. Bernie & Serena were just about to take their niece Guineviere to the pool for the very first time. She had just turned 1 and her aunties wanted to take her swimming for the first time.

While the baby was still napping, Bernie & Serena prepared food to take along so they could have a picnic afterwards. Sandwiches, watermelon, and crisps, nothing too complicated. Serena was in charge of the sandwiches because everyone wanted a different kind, which she didn’t mind.

Bernie had just cut the massive watermelon in half and was about to start slicing the fruit when Serena stopped her.

“What are you doing?” she asked as she quickly grabbed Bernie’s arm.

“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m cutting this thing,” she replied with a confused look on her face.

“No, you can’t cut it with that! You need to use this,” she said as she reached in the drawer for her special watermelon slicer.

“Oh my god, I can’t use that! It’s like an apple slicer!” Bernie laughed her silly laugh. “I’m going to use this really sharp knife on this really hard fruit.” She tried to slice it but the knife wouldn’t slide through.

“I’m telling you, Bernie, you need to use this slicer. It was made for watermelons such as that one.” Serena tried to press the device onto the watermelon, but Bernie pushed her away.

“No! I’ve got this. I want to use my knife!” Bernie was getting a bit angry. “It’s sharp and it will cut this stupid thing way better and faster than your stupid thing!” she huffed.

Bernie’s knife was special to her. The tool was given to her by her grandmother. She used it all the time when Bernie was growing up. Bernie remembered watching her grandmother use it for all sorts of things. Apart from her memories, it’s the only thing that Bernie has to remember her by and it made her feel close to her whenever she used it. 

“Why are you getting mad?” Serena didn’t know why Bernie’s attitude suddenly changed.

“Because I just want this job done so we can get going, but you’re making it way more difficult than it has to be,” Bernie said as she continued to struggle with the task.

“I was just trying to make it easier for you, but then you got mad at me.” Serena was feeling hurt that this simple job turned into a production.

“That’s because I was handling it just fine and then you pushed your way in!” Bernie shouted. Luckily, the knife had been out of Bernie’s hand by then.

“Oh my god, I didn’t push my way in!” Serena was getting angry as well.

“Auntie Serena, Auntie Bernie, why are you two fighting?” Jason asked suddenly. He had been standing in the doorway of the kitchen for a bit while his aunts had their row.

“We aren’t fighting, Jason. We’re having a creative discussion,” Bernie said as she yet again resumed her task.

“No, don’t lie to him, it’s a fight, we’re fighting,” she said. “I’m sorry, Jason, we’ll be ready to go in a bit.” She smiled at him.

“Okay, we’re bickering. Having an argument over something silly is called bickering,” Bernie piped in.

“Fine. Just hurry up because I’m ready to go and Guinevere can only stay in her car seat for a few minutes before there’s a risk of suffocation if she’s not in the car,” Jason said before leaving to check on his daughter.

“Alright, why don’t you use your tool on that half of the melon and I’ll use my knife on this half?” Bernie said, trying to make this ridiculously long process go faster.

“Deal,” Serena replied. “I’m sorry, Bernie,” she said.

“I’m sorry too, Serena. I shouldn’t have shouted at you.” Bernie leaned over and kissed Serena on the cheek.

“Thank you. Fighting and bickering are okay sometimes, it’s healthy. We just have to make sure we get through it and don’t let it get worse,” Serena said as she rubbed Bernie’s arm before finishing the slicing.

10 minutes later and they finally made it out the door. Bernie & Serena quickly got over their incident in the kitchen and the rest of the day was spent with the ones they loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to my friend [Death](https://twitter.com/authortalopez/)! I asked her what Berena should argue about and she said knives. She has a healthy obsession with them.


	25. Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena find a cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is definitely AU. Guinevere is 3 years old.

June 29, 2014, Bernie & Serena were headed to take Guinevere to the pedestrian bridge across town. It was a long walking bridge that went from one side of the river over to the other.

As Bernie crossed over a viaduct in their car, she noticed a car in the next lane had stopped.

“Bernie, why aren’t you going?” Serena asked. She was checking her emails and hadn’t been paying attention to the road.

“I can’t there’s something in the middle of the road,” Bernie replied as she stopped the car. “You two stay here,” she told them as she got out.

Serena sat up more in her seat and looked in the direction Bernie was headed. 2 ladies had gotten out of the car and were about to cross the street when Bernie approached them.  
“We just saw a truck pull up, stop, throw that little thing out of the door and drive off,” one of the women said.

Headed towards a school for troubled teens was a tiny, black and brown cat.

“Is that what happened?” Bernie asked. “I just pulled up as the truck was driving off,” she replied. “Will you help me catch is?” she asked the ladies.

It took them about 10 minutes with a lot of chasing and Bernie almost getting bit but she managed to capture the scared cat.

“I know someone that fosters rescue cats, I’ll take her with me,” she told the ladies and thanked them for helping them catch her.

“Oh my goodness,” Serena said as Bernie got back into the car with the poor thing. “How could someone do such a thing?

“I have no idea,” Bernie said.

“KITTY!” Guinevere shouted from the back when she realized what Bernie was holding.

“That’s right,” Bernie chuckled as she put her seatbelt on and drove off. The little cat laid down in her lap as she drove away.

They realized they couldn’t go to the bridge so they went back home and Bernie contacted her friend.

Not long after they got home from rescuing the cat, they knew they needed to give her a name so they had Guinevere help them decide on one until she got adopted and her new family would change it.

“Buzz Lightyear!” Guinevere said.

“Sweetie, she’s a girl, we need a girl name,” Serena told her. Bernie held back a laugh at Guinevere’s lightning speed suggestion. They had taken her to see Toy Story 4 a couple of days before and apparently, Buzz was her favorite character.  
“What’s a good name for a cat?” Serena asked out loud.

“Mittens, Fluffy, Snowball, Pussy-”

“Noooo,” Serena said as she put her hand on Bernie’s mouth to stop her before she could give any more suggestions. “How about Talia?” she asked the others.

“Oh, I like that,” Bernie said.

They took her to the vet the next day and found she was not microchipped. She was a bit undernourished, but still healthy. The vet guessed that she was between 2 and 3 years old.

 

Weeks and weeks had gone by and they still couldn’t find a good home for Talia. Bernie & Serena learned quickly that she wasn’t good around children, other than Guinevere. They learned that the hard way when one of Bernie’s friends came over and brought her daughter with. Talia hissed at the girl and tried to bite her every time she got close. Bernie knew from that moment that she would have to go to a home without children.

Little Talia fit right in with Bernie & Serena. She was spoiled and loved. She was given many cat toys, treats, and even a special little spot on top of the couch where she could keep an eye on things outside. They called it her throne.

They all got attached to Talia rather quickly. Especially Guinevere, who would beg her parents to take her over to see the cat on a daily basis. 

On September 25th, nearly 3 months since Bernie & Serena found her, they made the easy decision to adopt Talia. They knew they couldn’t give her up, and frankly, didn’t want to. Bernie’s friend wasn’t shocked when she told her the news. She knew Bernie wanted to, but was hesitant because she was more of a dog person, but deep down she really loved Talia.

Guinevere squealed with delight when her aunties told her the exciting news. Jason & Greta were even excited because they knew how happy their daughter was when she was around Talia.

They marked September 25th as Talia’s adoption day and June 29th her Gotcha Day. They don’t know why someone threw her out on the road, and they didn’t want to, but they were grateful they did because they couldn’t imagine their life without their special little cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this one! This was based on my life. My mom & I watched a truck drive away that had just thrown a little Chihuahua out. We were fostering for a dog rescue at the time and took her in. We couldn't find a suitable home for her because everyone that wanted to adopt her had little children and she wasn't good around children. We ended up adopting her and now she's my best friend and service dog. I take her everywhere with me. She's 7 now and so spoiled! It was hard to write this but as a cat, because I don't know much about cats!
> 
> Also, shoutout to my friend [Markaleen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Markaleen/) for letting me use her cat's name!!!!


	26. Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie has a dream that stays with her for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had no motivation to write this week, but I got this done and I'm happy with it.

Bernie was standing outside of Holby City hospital, about to light a cigarette when her phone chimes. It’s her husband, Marcus, asking how her first day at a new hospital going. She was just about to reply when she heard a woman shouting while on her phone. It looked like she was having car troubles, if her standing next to a lime green with the hood open, was anything to go by.

“Engine been growling or whining?” Bernie mumbled, the unlit cigarette still between her teeth.

The woman pulled her phone away from her ear and glanced at it when she noticed Bernie was talking to her.  
“Any intermittent smell of hot or burning rubber?” Bernie asked as she walked towards her.

“Define intermittent,” she replied.

“Alternator might be cactus-wait a minute, Peggy? Is that you?” Bernie asked as she removed the cigarette from her mouth.

“No. Serena, Serena Campbell,” the woman said, a bit confused.

“Sorry. I’m Bernie Wolfe, new trauma surgeon on Darwin.” Bernie said, reaching her hand out to shake Serena’s.

Bernie & Serena went about their day. Serena dealing with her car and Bernie trying to survive on Darwin with Jac Naylor around.

Several weeks later, after Bernie made her rounds on Darwin, she was sent to Keller to work with Dom, Essie & Sacha. She occasionally got to work with Serena, as well, which she enjoyed. Serena was someone she could talk to. A woman who was close to her age that she could talk to about husbands. Those were rare to find, she was lucky to have her nearby.

Things were going great until her secret got out. How could she face Serena now?

Bernie thought about their first meeting in the car park at least once a week. It was a bit awkward and she knew why, but she didn’t know how to approach Serena to explain it to her. Especially now that she knows about her affair.

She decided she had to get it over with, it was nagging her to the point where she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

She pulled Serena into her shared office on Keller one morning.

“Did you hear what happened during my surgery?” Bernie asked, not wanting to delay the conversation any further.

“Yes, but not in great detail. I don’t talk to Mr. Valentine & Guy Self,” she replied.

“I don’t know how to say this, but I had a dream.”

“Okay?” Serena wondered where in the heck this was going.

“You were in it. Your face was blurred a bit, but I saw your hair. And your voice was strong,” Bernie said, looking down at her hands. She had no idea how it happened or what it meant.

“How? We didn’t meet until after your surgery, in the car park.” Serena didn’t know if she should be creeped out or not.

“I don’t know. I know nothing about dreams and what they mean, but the day we met, I could’ve sworn you were the lady in my dream. I called you Peggy by accident because that was her name,” Bernie continued.

Now that Serena knew that Bernie cheated on her husband with a woman, she didn’t know what to say to the dream. Did that mean Bernie had feelings for her or feelings for the woman in her dream that happened to look and sound like her?

Bernie didn’t want the dream to disrupt their already troubled friendship or whatever it was that they had, so she didn’t say anything after that. She had to admit that she felt better afterwards.

When it came time for Bernie to start working on AAU, Serena had gotten past what happened on Keller and what Bernie told her. She never brought it up and Bernie was glad.

Bernie wanted to dream research, but she was afraid it would mean she had feelings for a woman she never met, and now a woman she works with, so she decided not to. Her marriage was a mess, her children weren’t speaking to her, why fill her head with more nonsense to keep her up at night?

As the months went on, Bernie & Serena’s friendship developed and they were now running AAU like a tight ship.

The day Fletch got stabbed was utter chaos. As they sat on the floor of the theatre room, both not knowing if their friend was going to make it, they realized how things could change in a split second.

“Our friend and colleague is fighting for his life,” Bernie whispered, her voice breaking.

“And he would be the first person to say ‘that you are the most fantastic, fearless doctor in this entire hospital,” Serena said. She could tell Bernie was trying to put the blame on herself.

While staring into Serena’s eyes, Bernie’s body moved faster than her brain and before she could stop herself, her lips were pressed to Serena’s. When she pulled away to look at Serena, expecting her to run off in disgust, her lips were attacked again. Bernie took this as Serena was okay with this. They continued to kiss for several more minutes until both of them realized where they were and what they were doing.

Neither of them knew what kissing on the theatre floor meant, or why they did it. Did Bernie’s dream have something to do with it? Was it the adrenaline from operating on their colleague? Who knows, but whatever happens in the weeks to come, they aren’t going to let it affect them. They’re going to continue to run AAU together like the 2 badass consultants that they are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found it much easier to write about stuff that has already happened.


	27. Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena celebrate pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wasn't in the mood to write, but this HAD to be done because I'm leaving for a trip tomorrow and I didn't want to stay up late writing it later tonight.

Bernie & Serena were about to attend their first pride parade and festival since becoming a couple and Bernie was so excited, Serena, not so much. It wasn’t like she didn’t support everyone in the LGBTQ community, she was a part of it so obviously, she had to support it. She just didn’t understand why she had to cover herself in rainbow colors. Bernie wasn’t worried, Serena would soon be all decked out by the end of their shopping trip and she’d feel differently about it all.

First stop was Tesco. They had a pretty wide selection of pride apparel for the women to choose from. The first thing Bernie laid her eyes on, she grabbed it and put it in her cart as Serena raised her right eyebrow. It was a very fluffy and colorful tutu, something that Serena figured Bernie had never worn in her life. Serena found a bead necklace that she thought was cute so she grabbed it. She was slowly getting into it. Bernie found a headband that had unicorn ears and horn on the top and a veil that flowed down back, which she couldn’t pass up. She also found a crown with a massive rainbow on top that bobbled around that she got for Serena to wear. Serena picked out a white shirt that said ‘Love Wins’ and she got one for Bernie in black.

After Bernie & Serena spent enough time at Tesco’s their next stop was the party store. Serena wasn’t quite sure why they needed to go, but she didn’t ask questions, she trusted Bernie.

When they got inside, Bernie headed straight for the back where all the makeup paint was. Serena was a little scared at this point.

“Body paint?” Serena asked Bernie when she held up cans of spray paint.

“Yep. I thought it would be fun to spray our arms and legs the 6 colors,” she replied with a huge grin on her face.

“I’m not sure, Bernie.” Serena’s face scrunched up in a grimace. “Won’t it stain our body? I don’t want to look like a rainbow at work on Monday.” Serena had a point. How could her patients take her seriously if she looked like a human gay flag?

“No, it washes off easily. Do it with me. Pleeeeeaaaaase Serena?” Bernie begged. She even gave her best puppy dog face.

“Oh, alright.” Serena rolled her eyes. “But if these things stain, you’re covering my shifts until they’re all gone. Understand?” She added with a serious face and pointed at Bernie to show she meant it.

“Yes, ma’am,” Bernie answered in her military voice and mock saluted with a purple spray can in her hand.

Pride day had finally arrived and both Bernie & Serena were excited. Serena’s excitement had increased the more her friend and colleague Dom talked about it. She knew what the parade and festival were, she just thought she couldn’t go because she was straight and didn’t fit in. Bernie had been a couple of times in the past, she always loved parades and celebrations, but she went with Marcus and she felt like she couldn’t enjoy herself because he would be skeptical about her sexuality.

Bernie decided it would be best to do the spray paint outside on the grass and had Serena lay down and drape a towel over her clothes and face. Starting at the top of the arms and legs, she sprayed a line across each little section in color order. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. When she was finished, she stepped back to look at her masterpiece. She didn’t do too bad of a job, she was happy with how it turned out. Serena paid attention to how Bernie sprayed and copied her and was able to make Bernie look almost identical to her.

Once they got to where the parade was, they found Dom and everyone else from Holby and all found a spot to watch.

The parade was fun, Serena had to admit. She didn’t think she would have much fun because she was, “new to the group,” she said several weeks before the parade. Bernie was having the time of her life, of course. Getting to celebrate who she was as a person and being surrounded by others like her was the best feeling in the world. And getting to do it with Serena right next to her was the icing on the cake. She even pecked Serena on the lips in front of her colleagues, which was something she’d never done before. She had a hard time showing just the tiniest bit of affection in public.

The rest of the pride festivities were so much fun. After having a few drinks at a local gay bar, Bernie & Serena headed home to shower in the hopes that they didn’t ruin their skin tone.

Thankfully, 2 showers later their skin looked like it was never sprayed in the first place. They climbed into bed and snuggled close.

“Did you have fun, love?” Bernie asked once they were both comfy. Clean, naked bodies pressed up against each other with Serena’s face in Bernie’s neck.

“Mhmm,” she nodded. “Thanks for making my first pride so special,” she said while trying to stifle a yawn.

“Of course,” Bernie smiled. “Thanks for being the reason I came out of the closet.” She kissed Serena’s hair before she felt Serena shift.

“What do you mean?” Serena was a little more awake now.

“If I hadn’t met you, I would’ve tried to work it out with Marcus and just stayed with him. I wouldn’t have been happy though, but he and my kids would’ve been.” Tears started to form in her eyes. “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life and that’s because of you, Serena. I never want to be with another person ever again.” She pressed her lips to Serena’s before she could respond. The kiss escalated quickly and it wasn’t long before both of them shouted each other’s names during their release.

“My pleasure,” Serena gasped when she came down from her high, her head resting on Bernie’s warm chest.

Their first pride together was a success and they definitely planned on going again next year. Being able to be yourself around other people without being judged was such a great feeling to them. If only the entire world respected, accepted and encouraged people who were LGBTQ because then it would be a much better place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this one and are ignoring the Holby spoilers. I'm choosing not to get riled up about it because it could be Holby baiting us like they always do.


	28. Birth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie reflects back on the birth of her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never written a birth fic so I decided to keep this really simple. I hope it's okay!

_“Were both of yours c-section?”_

_“I have seen the scar.”_

_“That was Charlotte.”_

_“Difficult?”_

_“Breech.”_

_“Daughters, eh? They like to make things **tricky**.”_

After Serena got up to meet her grandniece, Bernie thought back to the day Charlotte was born.

Her pregnancy had gone smoothly and the baby was head down until a week before she was born. When she flipped, Bernie tried every trick in the book to get her to right herself, but none of them worked. When she went into labor a week later, the doctors tried to manually flip her, which hurt like hell, but she wouldn’t budge. Bernie’s obstetrician insisted on a c-section, they didn’t want to risk hurting Bernie or the baby.

Bernie was frightened. She knew c-section recovery was brutal. She broke down sobbing as she was wheeled to the theatre room.

Marcus, Bernie’s husband, chose to stay in the waiting room with their son Cameron. He didn’t want to be in there with Bernie, he couldn’t handle watching people that he knew and worked with cut his wife open. Bernie begged for him to go with her, but he refused. He said their son needed him, which made Bernie sob harder because she wanted to comfort her son.

Charlotte came into the world screaming. Bernie released a breath she hadn’t known she was holding when she heard her daughter cry. All the pain and suffering she had to endure while in labor had vanished.

When she held Charlotte for the first time, she instantly fell in love. She didn’t think her heart had room for another person, but she was wrong.

“I will always be here for you and I will never hurt you. I love you,” she whispered to her daughter as she kissed her forehead.

When Bernie brought herself back to the present, tears welled up in her eyes again. She failed her daughter. She was never there for her and caused her emotional pain. She thought going on tours was best for her family. She couldn’t change the past, but she was definitely going to change the future. If not for herself, then for her children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it got a bit sad at the end. The ending got away from me!


	29. Snorkel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bernie & Serena get a glimpse at life underwater.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning: I know nothing about snorkeling.....

Bernie & Serena had just gotten married and their honeymoon was in the Caribbean and they were so excited. They planned to swim with the dolphins, scuba diving, pet the sea turtles, parasail and snorkel. All of the activities sounded like a lot of fun to Bernie. Serena, however, was hesitant about the snorkeling, she didn’t like the idea of breathing through a tube, but she was willing to try it with Bernie, her wife.

Snorkeling was the first thing on their itinerary. They grabbed their rented equipment and headed down to the beach. The instructor suggested that everyone put their masks and snorkels on and practice breathing before getting in the water. Bernie & Serena both did fine with that task. 

When it was time to get in the water, Bernie was calm and graceful, much like a fish. Serena had some issues. She was instructed to fold her hands across her chest and just float, but as soon as she got in the water, she went too far under and sucked a bit of water in through the snorkel and started to panic flailed like a whale.

When Bernie popped her head out of the water, she noticed Serena was struggling so she went over to help.

“Are you okay?” she asked Serena when she noticed her lips were blue from being out of breath.

“No. I can’t figure this stupid thing out. I look like an idiot,” she pouted and threw the snorkel in the water.

“Here, let me help you,” Bernie smiled and took Serena’s hands and kissed them with her wet, salty lips. “Get your gear back on,” she said.

Once Serena was ready, Bernie helped her lay in the water, holding her up as she floated around. Serena made a mental note that she needed to work on her core strength because it was a bit pathetic that she was so weak that her wife had to help her stay afloat.

Serena stayed in the water for a couple more minutes before she popped up and faced Bernie.

“Thank you so much,” she grinned as she wrapped her arms around Bernie’s neck and kissed her lips.

“Of course. I couldn’t let my wife look like an idiot on the first day of our honeymoon,” Bernie said as she winked at the woman in her arms. Serena couldn’t tell if that was supposed to sound sweet or if Bernie was making fun of her.

Serena decided she wanted to try it by herself again so Bernie got her mask and snorkel back on and laid in the water next to Serena so they could float together. Serena was able to keep her body up and soon she was gliding along with Bernie looking at all the creatures below them. It was such an amazing sight to see. As they got further out into the water, they saw things that most people could only dream of seeing. It looked so much prettier in real life. Google images were nothing compared to the real thing.

The rest of the snorkeling session was great and they even got their photos taken with some of the fish below, which was cool.

Bernie & Serena enjoyed the snorkeling so much that they talked to the instructor and were able to get a private session where the instructor would take them out further and had special equipment so they could even scuba dive if they wanted to. This was going to be a trip that Bernie & Serena will never forget, besides it being their honeymoon, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was googling about snorkeling, I saw an article that said "Beginner's Guide Snorkeling: How Not to Look like an Idiot" so I decided to make Serena look like an idiot *shrugs*


	30. Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The truth comes out.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been such a busy week for me and realized I hadn't written this week's prompt so it was kind of rushed, but I'm happy with what I came up with.

The truth is, everything that Alex Dawson had said was a lie. Yes, Bernie was missing in action, but she was still alive. Bernie found out that Alex had shown up at Holby City Hospital through Cameron. That night, the day Alex bombarded Cameron & Serena at their place of work to tell them Bernie was dead, Cameron went home and sobbed for the second time that day. To be calm enough to get some sleep, he decided to send a text to his mother saying how much he missed her and how much Alex was trying to take control of everything. The massive text came from the heart and took him an hour to type it, but he was happy with how it turned out and sent it whether it would reach her phone or not. It hurt Bernie to read it because she wasn’t able to respond.

 

_Hi Mum. I couldn’t sleep and just needed to text you one last time. I love you so much and I miss you. This sucks. I wish this wasn’t true. I want to believe you’re still alive somewhere, but it’s hard. Alex Dawson came and visited. ALEX FUCKING DAWSON MUM. Why did she show up???? You two haven’t been together in YEARS, how does she know so much about you and what happened? She wants to plan your funeral. YOUR FUNERAL. They haven’t even found your body yet, just your armor. I won’t let her do it. She has no right. She’s not family. Charlotte & I need to be doing this. OH GOD CHARLOTTE. Did Alex tell her too??? Because I didn’t. And does dad know???? I HATE THIS. If you’re still alive, please come home. I need you. I need my mum. I can’t do this without you. I’m having such a shit time here at this hospital. The one you were supposed to come back to. Why did you ever leave in the first place? You & Serena were supposed to run AAU together forever. I thought you two were going to get married because you were both so in love. You loved Serena so much and I could hear it in your voice whenever we talked on the phone._

_Anyway, I hope you’re happy and healthy, wherever you may be._

_I love you, mum xxxx_

 

After seeing the text from Cameron, Bernie knew that now was the time that the truth came out.

She sat down at her computer and composed a new email to Serena Campbell.

When Serena went back to her office to do paperwork, she noticed she had an email, probably from Hanssen about who-knows-what. I wasn’t, it was from an unknown email address. She decided to open it because it was in the inbox and not the spam folder. When Serena opened the email, she let out an audible gasp.

 

_Dear Serena,_

_It’s me, Bernie. You cannot tell anyone, not even Cameron, but I’m alive. Let me explain._

_Yes, there was a bomb. Yes, I was MIA, but I wasn’t injured. Minutes before the attack, an officer came and talked to me and told me to follow him, so I took my body armor off right as the bomb went off. I’m safe and unharmed._

_I found out that Alex came and visited you & Cam when Cam sent me a text that night. Alex heard that they found my armor through my boss. He knew what was going on and had everything handled._

_Alex & I had been briefly working together for the past 2 weeks. Whatever she told you is not true. I don’t know what she’s said to you, but none of it is true. I told her about us and ever since then she has been all over me. She wants me to come crawling back to her, but we are not together._

_I still love you, Serena. I always have and always will. This is why I’m risking my life and potentially your life by telling you all of this._

_I’m a secret agent. The officer that talked to me before the bombing had tracked me down and found me. I can’t tell you who I work for, but I’m in a safe location._

_You have to keep all of this between you & me for right now. If any of this gets out, it could jeopardize the lives of the agents I work with, so please, don’t tell anyone._

_I hope this email puts you at ease and I will email you with more information when I can._

_I miss you. Please, if you can, hug Cameron for me and just tell him to stay strong. Take care, Serena._

_Bernie x_

 

Serena was numb after she read the email. She wanted to scream in excitement and also break down and cry from relief. But how was she supposed to respond to that? She sat in her office chair for a good 10 minutes before deciding that replying during her shift was not the best idea. Bernie needed her undivided attention after all of that.

When she wasn’t with patients, she thought of what she was going to say to Bernie. She took some notes when she could.

One of the things she was struggling with was if she still loved Bernie. It was obvious that Bernie still loved her. If Bernie came walking through the doors again, would she be happy to see her or would she be angry? She would be happy for Cameron, obviously, but what would it mean for them? For their relationship? Did they even have a relationship anymore or were they just acquaintances? Ex-lovers?

So many questions rattled Serena’s brain that she spent the drive home thinking about what she & Bernie once had and it made her sad if she was honest. Everything they went through and all they accomplished as a couple was quickly tarnished because of something Jason had said. Something so casual had such an impact that cost them their relationship and almost Bernie’s life. If they hadn’t broken up, Bernie never would’ve left and she never would’ve gone to Somalia where she was so close to death. Part of her blamed herself for this. She was glad Bernie was alive, but she hurts for Cameron, she knew what losing a family member felt like and she’d never wish it on her worst enemy. She would be glad the day that Cameron received an email similar to what she got. Until then, she would have to sit back and keep an eye on Cameron and make sure he was doing as best as he could because, at one point, there was a chance he would be her stepson.

Sometimes the truth hurts, but other times it’s an amazing thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I put my anger into Cameron's text because it was really easy to write.
> 
> Shoutout to [Markaleen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/markaleen/) for writing that Agent Bernie fic for my birthday and inspiring me to write more about it. Love you! ❤️


End file.
